Chelsea Transfer News: John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic Contract Plans Reported

Chelsea duo John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic are reportedly being made to sweat over their Stamford Bridge futures with manager Jose Mourinho delaying his decision until the new year on whether they should be offered new contracts.

The pair's current deals expire at the end of the season, but both have made very poor starts to the new term and hardly made convincing cases for deserving extensions.

Both Ivanovic and skipper Terry are stalwarts of the Blues dressing room, but that may not guarantee their futures at the club with Mourinho expecting a turnaround in form, per Sami Mokbel in the Daily Mail: "Mourinho wants to see how Terry and Ivanovic emerge from their early-season difficulties before making a decision on their futures."

The defending Premier League champions have made an awful start to the new season, losing three of their five matches so far.

Their remarkable slump has been characterised by an unexpected vulnerability in their previously rock-solid defence and they have conceded 12 goals already, which is the most in the division.

This is largely down to very weak performances from 31-year-old Ivanovic and 34-year-old Terry, the two bastions of the Chelsea back line.

Terry was substituted by Mourinho at half-time against Manchester City and sent off against West Bromwich Albion, while Ivanovic looks a shadow of his former self, per football writer Daniel Storey:

The two defenders were both dropped as Chelsea registered a first clean sheet of the season on Wednesday in a morale-boosting 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League.

Per John Cross in the Mirror, the other Blues players believe the doubt over their respective futures could be affecting the performances of Terry and Ivanovic.

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Though it was previously a given that the pair would be offered new contracts, they are now reportedly attracting interest from Turkish giants Fenerbahce, and they can start talking to foreign clubs in January about a potential move, per Cross.

Terry and Ivanovic could have the opportunity to prove their worth if they are picked to play in a key league clash with Arsenal on Saturday.

Bleacher Report's Andy Brassell believes the Blues will claim three points against the north London outfit, but another defeat could put yet more pressure on the side, and particularly their experienced defensive duo:

Terry has been at Chelsea since he was a teenager and Ivanovic arrived in west London in 2008. Both have been vital to the club's numerous successes in recent years, but they look to be coming to the end of the road.

They may well be given another year, but they need to prove they still have what it takes, which will require a dramatic upturn in form from both of them.