A few words from John Terry yesterday appeared to signal the end of the Chelsea captain's long association with his only professional club this summer.
But a subsequent statement from the London club have left the door slightly open and could see the veteran Terry stay for a little longer.
Football analyst and ex-Chelsea and Everton winger Pat Nevin believes it won't be a surprise if the 35-year-old is still at Stamford Bridge next season.
He told Off The Ball: "I will say that I won't be shocked if John Terry is playing for Chelsea next season."
But he also feels that the defender still offers something, even if declines for players in their 30s can happen suddenly.
Meanwhile, with Pep Guardiola announced as Manchester City's next manager, it leaves incumbent Manuel Pellegrini as something of a lame duck coach for the remainder of the season.
Pat Nevin believes that level of uncertainty created by announcing the successor while the current manager is in charge could harm the team in the short term.
He said: "It's always the same case. If you're not in the plans or much-loved by the current manager and you hear that he's a bit of a lame duck and you're likely to go, you're secretly quite delighted. I suspect most players will be because the next guy who comes in could favour me. And the same kind of thing for some other players will be the other way around, if you're an absolute favourite of the guy, there's a definite level of uncertainty when the next guy comes in and that's what doesn't help the team - that uncertainty coming from different angles.
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