Chelsea defender Cahill has been linked with a return to Villa Park.
Italian outlet CalcioMercato may have just provided Aston Villa with a major January transfer boost by reporting that Chelsea defender Gary Cahill is unsure over a move abroad.
According to Corriere Dello Sport, AC Milan want to sign the 32-year-old Chelsea captain in January, with his contract at Stamford Bridge set to expire at the end of the season.
The England international has managed just 21 minutes of Premier League football since the appointment of Maurizio Sarri, as the Italian prefers David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger in defence.
Instead, Cahill has been forced to feed off scraps. He has played twice in the Carabao Cup, and four of Chelsea’s five Europa League games – picking up clean sheets in all of those European outings.
The Telegraph report that Villa want to bring Cahill back to his boyhood club, almost 11 years after he left to join Bolton Wanderers in January 2008. It seems as though only Villa and Milan are interested, so far.
But the report from CalcioMercato suggests that Villa have the upper hand, as the 61-time England star does not want to move abroad at this stage in his career, potentially ruling out a move to Gennaro Gattuso’s Serie A giants Milan.
It remains to be seen what decision Cahill makes, though he may be persuaded to choose in the January window as Chelsea look to avoid losing the £130,000-a-week (Spotrac) defender on a free transfer in the summer.
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