Aston Villa have countered Birmingham City’s offer for Chelsea defender John Terry, according to a report in the Mirror.
The newspaper claims that 36-year-old Terry is at the centre of a tug-of-war between the two Midlands rivals who are scrapping it out for the former England skipper in the summer.
It is said Blues manager Harry Redknapp had been leading the race for Terry’s signature and now Villa have upped the ante by “slapping more money on the table” for the highly-experienced player.
Five-time Premier League winner Terry will leave Chelsea this summer when his contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of this month.
Terry has not retired from the game and is open to continuing playing which has seen interest in the soon-to-be out-of-contract player rise.
Both Villa and Birmingham are owned by Chinese owners, with Tony Xia taking over the reigns at Villa Park last June and Paul Suen completing his takeover of the St Andrew’s side last December.
The report states that the ball is currently in Birmingham’s court with neither owner wanting to lose face in their pursuit of Terry.
It is also said that, at the earliest, no decision about Terry is due to be made until the middle of next week and he will prove to be the ultimate winner in this game of cat and mouse.