Chelsea step up £130m triple swoop for Tiemoue Bakayoko, Alex Sandro and Antonio Rudiger as John Terry joins Aston Villa

Closing in: Bakayoko’s £35m switch is expected to be announced within 48 hours
Simon Johnson3 July 2017

John Terry joined Aston Villa today, as his former club, Chelsea, stepped up their bid to complete deals worth £130million for Tiemoue Bakayoko, Alex Sandro and Antonio Rudiger.

Terry looked on course to join Bournemouth following talks last month but he has opted for the Championship club after deciding he did not want to play against Chelsea.

Aston Villa owner Tony Xia confirmed the news this morning by tweeting: “Welcome JT to Birmingham city, Aston Villa!”

The 36-year-old defender, who left Stamford Bridge after his contract expired, has agreed an initial one‑year deal with a basic wage of £60,000 per week.

But a bonus package, which includes a sizeable reward if they win promotion back to the top flight, will potentially earn him another £2m.

That will take his earnings to just under £100,000 a week, which, as Standard Sport revealed, were his wage demands to interested clubs.

Terry was persuaded to drop down a division by Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce, who has had a close relationship with the centre-half since almost signing him from Chelsea for Huddersfield Town in 2000 when a £750,000 fee was agreed.

The former England international likes the challenge of helping Aston Villa get back in the Premier League and the fact they will not be in direct competition with Chelsea, where he has spent the last 22 years and won 15 major trophies. Bruce is also looking to help Terry with his coaching ambitions. Terry (below) will join up with the Villa squad, who are on a training camp in Portugal, as soon as possible.

The players on Chelsea’s transfer shortlist

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Meanwhile, Chelsea are set to spend heavily this week.

Bakayoko’s £35m switch from Monaco is expected to be announced within the next 48 hours. He has passed a medical and agreed terms.

Chelsea are also confident they will finalise a transfer worth up to £33.3m for Roma defender Antonio Rudiger, who was part of the Germany side that won the Confederations Cup.

The Blues were on the verge of buying him for around £20m last summer, only for him to suffer a serious knee ligament injury.

There has been a suggestion that Manchester City have staged a late bid to beat Chelsea to the 24-year-old’s signature.

Rudiger increased the speculation by suggesting a move to Chelsea is not imminent and that his future will be determined “in the coming weeks”. But Chelsea are convinced Rudiger, who can play as a right-back and centre-half, is joining them.

Negotiations with Juventus for Sandro are dragging on into a third week. Juventus have offered the Brazil international a new contract worth £84,000 a week to try get him to stay but Chelsea are willing to pay more than £100,000 a week.

It will take a new club-record fee of £61m for Antonio Conte’s side to buy him and talks continued today.

Interest from Paris St Germain has complicated matters but, significantly, Juventus have been looking at potential replacements.

One option is Leonardo Spinazzola, who is halfway through a two-year loan from Juventus at Atalanta.

His agent Davide Lippi said: “The dream move would be if Juventus sold Alex Sandro. They paid €28m (£24.5m) and if Chelsea offer €70m (£61.3m), they would make a massive profit. They could replace him with a player just as strong, like Spinazzola.”

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