Terry wants Man City talks

Chelsea captain John Terry has told Roman Abramovich that he wants to hold talks with Manchester City about a possible £40m move, according to reports in the UK press.

Terry held showdown talks with Blues owner Abramovich on Saturday night and although the centre-back stopped short of handing in an official transfer request the England international made it clear he wanted to speak to City officials.

The Sunday Times claim Chelsea were willing to make Terry the club's highest paid player, ahead of Frank Lampard, but they would not match City's offer of £250,000 a week, plus a £5m signing-on fee.

Terry is thought to want to hear for himself what the Citizens have to offer but Chelsea insiders believe the 28-year-old is just using the transfer speculation to negotiate a better contract at Stamford Bridge.

If the England captain does head to Eastlands, the London club could replace him with Newcastle United centre-back Steven Taylor and will pay up to £10m for the 23-year-old.

Meanwhile, should City manager Mark Hughes miss out on Terry he will turn his attention to Porto defender Bruno Alves. The £20m-rated Portugal international is also wanted by Barcelona.