Blues sign Cahill

With both parties happy with negotiations Gary Cahill has signed on the dotted line and is now a Chelsea player.

The 26-year-old England defender watched Saturday’s 1-0 win over Sunderland from the stands.

He cost £7m but his ex-boss said: “He has now gone to an elite club who have aspirations of winning every competition they enter, that will push him on to another level.

“He is competing with world-class players now for his position in the team. He is working with a fantastic manager, who wants to build a club at Chelsea”, he added.

Cahill started his career with Aston Villa when he joined their academy as a 15-year-old. He enjoyed a loan spell with Burnley before making his debut in 2005 in the Carling Cup against Wycombe. Having made 31 appearances he was transferred to Bolton for £5m in 2008, and just two years later he found himself earning his first England cap.

The Sheffield born youngster has scored three times this season, which included a stunning effort in Bolton’s opening day 4-0 win against QPR. One of the goals came for England against Bulgaria.

Chelsea have got an excellent player in Cahill and he should make a huge difference to this season’s shaky defence.