John Terry poised for £14m takeover of EFL club | OneFootball

John Terry has become the latest star linked with purchasing a football club

Colchester United may be in the process of getting new ownership this coming summer.

This year marks the 20th since current owner Robbie Cowling took over the League Two side, and since 2006, the U's have been on a slow slide down the EFL, from seasons in the Championship in the first couple of years to now languishing in the fourth tier.

Talks of a takeover have been in the works for close to a year now. The club were in talks with a US-based consortium last summer, but that fell through in June.

News about a consortium inlcuding former AC Milan and Brazil frontman Alexandre Pato taking over the club also surfaced back in February, with Pato attending a Colchester game against Fleetwood Town. However, that group also pulled out of negotiations.

But, in the latest update surrounding new ownership at the Jobserve Community Stadium, another famous footballing face is set to be the face of a consortium poised to purchase the club.

John Terry set to form a consortium to buy Colchester United

According to a report from the Sun on Sunday night, former Chelsea and England captain John Terry is set to announce a £14 million deal, alongside a consortium, for the purchase of Colchester.

The 45-year-old is currently working at his former club as an academy coach, and the report states that he'll still be continuing his role at Chelsea alongside having "significant influence" over the footballing side of the fourth-tier outfit.

Those are the words of an insider, who spoke to the paper, while Terry himself declined to comment.

"This has been a long time in the making, and JT is really excited for it all to become official. He's a hugely passionate advocate of lower league football, and helping clubs get the support and publicity they deserve," the insider would go on to state.

"He's already been down to the training ground a few times and got stuck in without any fanfare. He really believes in the boys and, for their part, the lads at Colchester are absolutely buzzing that he's getting involved.

"He will bring a real stardust. Everyone involved with Colchester is excited, and the hope is that the deal will really put them on the map as they push for promotion."

The U's, managed by former Lincoln City and Huddersfield Town boss Danny Cowley, sit 13th in League Two currently, but were on the brink of making a push for the play-offs last season.

The year before, however, they finished just three points above the relegation zone and were in danger of falling out of the EFL altogether.

John Terry's influence could give Colchester United a real boost towards a League One return

It's been evident for a few years now that Colchester have needed fresh direction. Robbie Cowling himself admitted this past summer that the U's needed someone with "deeper pockets" to take the club forward.

Through the success of Wrexham and dominance of Birmingham City in League One last season, we've seen the impact that celebrity faces can have at a football club, not only in generating fanfare and excitement, but also in giving their side a financial advantage over the rest of the division.

This season marks a decade since Colchester were last relegated from League One, and you have to go back to 2007/08 to the last time that they were in the Championship.

And while a second tier return seems a long way away, having someone with the influence of Terry at the top of the club could start to put the pieces together towards an eventual return.

The focus currently is on getting out of League Two, though, and while it isn't looking likely this season, with the U's sat nine points adrift of the top seven with four games remaining, changes in the off-season would position Colchester towards making a run at the play-offs as a minimum in 2026/27.