The Chelsea football manager Jose Mourinho says a new contract for long-serving defender John Terry is a "formality".
Terry's current deal expires at the end of the season and Mourinho believes his 34-year-old captain is playing as well as when Chelsea won the Premier League in 2005.
Chelsea defender John Terry Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Mourinho said: "There are no doubts that he is going to get another contract. I know that, he knows that.
"He's a very important player in the team, so the next contract sooner or later will come."
Terry has spent all of his career at Stamford Bridge and has played almost 650 games for the club.
The former England captain is bidding to lead Chelsea to a fourth Premier League title and a first since 2010.
He scored for the second game running in Chelsea's 2-0 win over West Ham on Boxing Day, which kept Mourinho's side three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
Chelsea, who face fourth-placed Southampton on Monday, have a policy of offering only one-year deals to players over the age of 30.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres is ending his three-and-a-half year stay at Chelsea, with his loan move to AC Milan set to become permanent from January 5th.
The Spain international will then be loaned out to his boyhood club Atletico Madrid.
