Why Aston Villa Lead The Race To Sign Chelsea Star Despite Interest From Manchester United And AC Milan

Why Aston Villa Lead The Race To Sign Chelsea Star Despite Interest From Manchester United And AC Milan
16:29, 19 Nov 2018

Gary Cahill is preparing for life away from Chelsea after being told he can leave on loan during the January transfer window and there are no shortage of suitors for the signature of the former England defender.

The 32-year-old has fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge this season, playing just 21 minutes of Premier League football and captaining what is effectively a 'B' team in the Europa League and League Cup so far.

It would appear as if Cahill is surplus to requirements following a hugely successful six years at Chelsea, where he has won the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League (twice), FA Cup and League Cup, and he will be allowed to move out on loan in January.

Several clubs, both in England and abroad, will be interested in the experienced campaigner and Aston Villa could hold plenty of aces when it comes to trying to sign their former player.

Cahill came through the academy ranks with Villa before making his first team debut in 2005 and he arguably has unfinished business at Villa Park after the club's manager at the time, Martin O'Neill, made the bizarre decision to sell one of England's brightest defensive prospects to Bolton for £5m in 2008. O'Neill's preference was to play Zat Knight at the heart of his Villa defence - a choice that seemed particularly strange at the time and one that hasn't aged well since.

Fast forward ten years and Cahill would appear to be an ideal addition to a Villa defence that has leaked 23 goals in 17 Championship games this season - only eight clubs in the division have conceded more.

Villa boss, Dean Smith, only has two recognised central defenders in his squad - James Chester and the on-loan Axel Tuanzebe - so Cahill should be top of the Villans' shopping list in January.

However, Corriere Dello Sport (via HITC) are reporting that Villa face a battle with AC Milan for the signature of Cahill. The Serie A giants are in desperate need of a new defender after Alessio Romagnoli became the latest player to be ruled out after picking up a calf injury. It seems doubtful that Cahill would want to move to a new country at this stage of his career.

To add further fuel to a transfer fire that is sure to burn for weeks to come, the Daily Star report that Manchester United are also monitoring Cahill's position with interest as they look to rectify their own defensive crisis. United boss, Jose Mourinho, has made a new centre-back a priority when the transfer window opens up again and he knows Cahill well from their time together at Chelsea.

Cahill played 114 games for Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, although there are worries that a defender who was never the quickest may have lost a yard of pace. His ageing legs could be severely tested by the week-to-week rigours of the Premier League.

A drop down to the Championship might be a preferable option at this stage of his career, particularly as his old defensive stalwart partner, John Terry, is the assistant manager at Aston Villa. A Chelsea reunion in the West Midlands could be on the cards come January.

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.