COBHAM: Chelsea captain John Terry will be awarded a contract extension to keep him at the club beyond this season, manager Jose Mourinho revealed on Tuesday.
Terry's current 12-month deal expires at the end of the campaign, but Mourinho says the 34-year-old centre-back's form this season persuaded the club to offer him a new deal.
"What I can guarantee is he will be a Chelsea player next season," Mourinho told a press conference at the club's training ground ahead of his side's trip to West Ham United on Wednesday.
"I can guarantee that. To guarantee that, it's because I know what my board tell me and what the player tells me. No doubts he is going to get his contract, no doubts."
Terry, a graduate of the Chelsea academy, was named man of the match after scoring the opening goal in his side's 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday's League Cup final at Wembley.
The former England captain endured a troubled season two years ago during Rafael Benitez's brief spell in charge at the club, when a knee injury limited his appearances.
But Terry has emerged as the dominant figure in the Chelsea back-line since Mourinho returned to the club in 2013, with Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma now battling it out for the right to line up alongside him.
Mourinho admits his captain's role in the side means he will leave a large gap when he eventually leaves Stamford Bridge, but the Portuguese is not thinking about who will succeed Terry just yet.
"Every one of these big guys is difficult to replace, but at the same time you still have the player and he is still an important player, you have to start thinking: 'What next?'" said Mourinho.
"But this is a process that we can take our time over because John is proving again this season that he's a player for years."
- Zouma 'not a midfielder' -
Mourinho added: "When I came back last year he was coming from a difficult period, but last season he was very good. This season even better than last season.
"So, normally, he has time to enjoy his football with us. At the same time, he gives us time to think about what next."
Zouma appears to have moved ahead of Cahill in the pecking order, but the youngster was used in an unfamiliar midfield holding role against Spurs in the absence of the suspended Nemanja Matic and injured John Mikel Obi.
Mourinho confirmed that Mikel has a knee injury and will be out for "about a month". But while Zouma impressed in his new role, the manager does not see a long-term future for the Frenchman in that position.
"He is not a midfield player. He is not going to be a midfielder. That is completely clear," said Mourinho.
"It's not his future. But the team is better when you know the qualities of everybody, when you know everybody can be extra in some details, and if Zouma couldn't do that for us on that day, we would have been in trouble."
Meanwhile, Mourinho admitted that he does not know if Petr Cech will still be at Chelsea next season after losing his role as automatic first-choice goalkeeper following the arrival of Thibaut Courtois.
"I don't think Petr is a guy to be persuaded," he said.
"I will just wait, wishing his decision is to stay. That's my desire. I would like him very, very much to stay. But I don't waste my time trying to persuade him because it's just his decision."
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