How much Huddersfield Town nearly signed Chelsea legend John Terry for | OneFootball

The defender came close to signing for Steve Bruce's Terriers side not long after he moved to Nottingham Forest on loan.

Transfer near-misses are sometimes just as exciting as those deals that are completed, with some of the biggest names in football finding themselves linked with current EFL clubs in the past.

The likes of Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane and Didier Drogba have all come close to joining the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Southampton respectively in years gone by before going on to make their mark in the game.

Huddersfield Town have also had their own chance of striking gold, with Chelsea legend John Terry almost moving to West Yorkshire at the very start of his career before he went on to become one of the very best centre-backs to have played in the top flight.

Football League World has taken a look at how much the Terriers nearly paid for the services of the Champions League and five-time Premier League winner while Steve Bruce was the manager of the club.

Huddersfield nearly struck a bargain deal with Chelsea for Terry

While he spent the vast majority of his career at Stamford Bridge, Terry did find himself out on loan at Nottingham Forest at the end of the 1999/00 campaign - featuring six times for the Reds in the second tier.

He impressed greatly, but with it uncertain as to whether he could make the step-up to the Chelsea first team, Bruce pursued a deal with the West London outfit for the services of the centre-back.

The current Blackpool boss explained - via The Sun - just how close he came to signing Terry while he was in charge of Huddersfield in just his second job in management.

"When I was managing Huddersfield, I was so close to signing John Terry," he stated. "I thought it was going to happen, pretty certain actually, for £750,000.

"But then Gianluca Vialli, who was manager at Chelsea, changed his mind. John had done well out on loan with Nottingham Forest for five or six games and because of that they decided to keep him."

Bruce continued: "The deal had some legs at the start and I really thought I was getting him, but all of a sudden it didn’t happen. It would have been a straight deal, no loan.

"JT was only a kid then. The course of history would have been changed wouldn’t it? One of the most successful captains ever, with five Premier League wins, five FA Cups, a Champions League and nearly 80 caps for England. Instead, he would have been at Huddersfield Town."

Bruce eventually secured the services of Terry

While he did miss out on signing Terry at Huddersfield, he eventually linked up with the defender while he was in charge of Aston Villa in the Championship.

The legendary centre-back spent just one year with the Villans as a player, but his experience was crucial as his side made it to the play-off final, where they were ultimately beaten by Fulham.

He delved into coaching the season after, working alongside Bruce and then Dean Smith as Villa returned to the Premier League after beating Derby County 2-1 at Wembley following a remarkable turnaround in form.

Despite getting his man at the end of his career, the former Huddersfield manager must always wonder what if he had been able to secure the signature of Terry before he went on to become a world-class defender?