Colchester confirm 'detailed' sale talks amid Terry link

John Terry played at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups for England [Getty Images]

Colchester United say "detailed discussions" are ongoing following reports a consortium including former Chelsea and England defender John Terry is in talks to take over the League Two club.

Chairman and owner Robbie Cowling said, however, that the club were "not in a position to comment on any specific individuals or companies involved" after it was reported by The Sun that the Terry group had submitted a £14m offer.

"Further details will only be shared once a transaction has been fully completed and all formalities have been concluded," Cowling said in a statement.

"In the meantime, my focus remains on ensuring that any decision regarding the future ownership of the club is the right one for Colchester United, its supporters, and its long-term success."

The club were put up for sale in the first half of last year, but a deal with the US-based Lightwell Sports Group fell through in June.

In January, they were in talks with Sports Alpha Capital, a consortium whose members included ex-AC Milan and Brazil forward Alexandre Pato, but that fell through the following month.

Terry played almost 500 games, and won 78 international caps, during a playing career which ended in 2018 following a season at Aston Villa.

He won multiple trophies with Chelsea, including five Premier League titles and five FA Cups, plus the Champions League in 2012.

Terry later had spells on the coaching staff at Aston Villa and Leicester City under Dean Smith before returning to Chelsea to work with the academy in 2023.

He has expressed frustration at being unable to secure a head coach role, even on an interim basis.

Following Chelsea's decision not to turn to him following the departure of Enzo Maresca, he told the GolfLife Youtube channel: "Now listen, people have got to make decisions. I love it when people make decisions and they go 'yes' or 'no'.

"Clearly the ownership, or whoever made those decisions - the sporting directors - have gone 'no' not to include me, for whatever reason. I don't know why."

Colchester are a club Terry knows well as his nephew Frankie is member of the first-team squad, making 11 appearances this season following an earlier loan spell at Braintree Town.

The U's are 13th in League Two and host Accrington Stanley on Tuesday.

'Rumours of Terry involvement might surprise outsiders' - analysis

by Victoria Polley, BBC Essex sports editor

The sale of Colchester United has been rumbling on for almost a year now so speculation about some developments will be welcome news for fans following previous failed talks with the Lightwell Sports Group and Sports Alpha Capital consortium.

It is my understanding that when the talks broke down with SAC, which included Alexandre Pato, there were two further parties interested and that has been whittled down to one more recently.

In the last couple of weeks, head coach Danny Cowley has been referencing "exciting times ahead" in his BBC Essex interviews - how much can we read into that?

The rumours about John Terry's involvement might surprise outsiders but his nephew Frankie has been a part of the Colchester set-up for a number of years and has been involved in the first-team squad on a regular basis for much of the second half of the season.

The most important thing for Colchester United is to get a deal agreed, with the right owners. The U's have four games left of the season, sit mid-table and many first-team players out of contract this summer.

Getting a takeover completed to allow the management team to get their budget in place and business done early in the off-season is vital.