Frankie Terry interview: John Terry’s nephew discusses his footballing family, non-League loans and Colchester breakthrough | Football News

Football has always been the family business for Frankie Terry.

His dad, Paul, played for Dagenham & Redbridge, Yeovil and Leyton Orient, where he now works as assistant to Richie Wellens.

His maternal uncle, Paul Konchesky, earned two England caps and played 347 times in the Premier League for Charlton, West Ham, Tottenham, Fulham, Liverpool and Leicester.

And his paternal uncle, John Terry, captained both Chelsea and England. He played over 700 times for the Blues and earned 78 Three Lions caps.

It would have taken nothing to convince Frankie to follow in the footsteps of the trio, which is exactly what he did. He joined Colchester from Leyton Orient at 15 and now, at 22, is part of the first team picture in north Essex.

“From my point of view, they are just my uncles and my dad, but they were a big part of why I wanted to play football,” he tells Sky Sports.

“Watching them every week, seeing how they lived, the lifestyle they get and the way they helped my family is something that really pushes me every day.

“One uncle was a left-back and the other was a centre-half and they were both England internationals and Premier League players. There’s no two better people to look up to. I’d go pretty much every week to either Chelsea or wherever Paul was.

“The one that sticks out most was John’s last Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge, after they had won the league. That was a very proud and emotional day for the family and for him. It was a lovely send-off, but coming to the end of his Chelsea career was big.

“Even now I still ask them a lot of questions and learn a lot from them. They have lived every part of football and they know what I’m going through, so anything I need, anything I’m going through, they are one phone call or text away. They are always going to have the right advice because they’ve lived it.

“If I could have half the career of both of them, I’d be buzzing because they went on to achieve great things and are people I really look up to.”

Perhaps Terry was always destined, then, to become something of a mix of the two; he is left-footed and equally comfortable playing at left-back as he is at centre-back.

“I love heading the ball, I love tackling, I love clearing the ball. But I also enjoy the other half and playing out, like the modern-day centre-half,” he says.

“I’m a player that likes to do both, but I really enjoy defending. I think it’s an art and a really good skill.”

The Terry surname and his family connections carry understandable weight that Frankie felt “quite a bit” as a youngster, but nothing has been handed to him.

He was playing U21-level football for Colchester at 16 and went out on loan for the first time to Isthmian North side Maldon & Tiptree just after he turned 17, working under former Us player and manager Wayne Brown.

Next came a step up to the National League South with Chelmsford City in 2022/23, where he was named Supporters’ Young Player of the Year.

“The first loan was getting used to it, but the second loan was about being an established men’s player, not being looked at as an U18 or U21 player anymore. Being at Chelmsford really helped me do that,” he adds.

In 2023/24, he briefly returned to Chelmsford, then moved on to Aveley, before stepping up to the National League with Braintree Town during the first half of 2024/25 and following in his dad’s footsteps at Yeovil in the second.

Last season, after signing a new two-year contract, Terry returned to Braintree on loan and played 26 games in all competitions, scoring twice before he was recalled in early December.

He had to bide his time for a chance; in the first 15 Sky Bet League Two games after his return, Us boss Danny Cowley only played him four times.

But from April 4 to the end of the season on May 2, he did not miss a single minute. Colchester won four of those seven games, keeping two clean sheets.

“It was an opportunity I was waiting for for a long time,” Terry says.

“I’m grateful to Danny and Nicky [Cowley] for trusting me and allowing me to get that run of games. They are very honest, very genuine people who want what’s best for you. Going into this season, it’s something I really needed.

“The difference in levels between the National League and League Two isn’t as big as people think. You have the teams that have come down from League One or are about to go up to League One and there’s a difference there, but the standard is very similar and the quality of players in both leagues is very similar.

“But now I know the standard of League Two, there’s no excuse when I do play to say I haven’t played much. I played 15 games last season in League Two and it was massive for me to get that taste.”

Terry knows exactly what his aims are, both for the season ahead and beyond.

“I want at least double the amount of League Two games I got last season. I want to establish myself as a regular starter and really kick on with my career. I’m 22 now and there’s no better time for me to do that.

“But the dream is to play in the Premier League. It is every kid’s dream nowadays. If I could follow in my uncles’ footsteps, that would be unbelievable for me and my family.”

And Terry knows that while his family of footballers can give him all the tools to succeed he could ever wish for, it is down to him to utilise them.

“As I’ve grown up and established myself, I’ve come to terms with the fact I’ve actually got here by myself and I am my own player. As much as they can tell me the right things to do, I’m the one that’s actually got to step onto the football pitch and perform every week.”

His surname may start conversations, but now Frankie Terry wants his football to do the talking.