England international and Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill is on his way out of Stamford Bridge.
Embed from Getty Images
According to reports in the Evening Standard, the 33-year-old is ready to make the switch, on loan for now, to Fulham.
Cahill has struggled to make an impression on Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, after also falling out of favour with Antonio Conte towards the end of the Italian’s reign.
All in all, it’s a rather ignominious end to what was a hugely successful career at Chelsea for Cahill, who took in two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, a League Cup, a Europa League and a Champions League title during his eight years in the blue part of West London.
There was talk that Cahill’s situation at Chelsea, and the fact his contract was set to expire in the summer, had alerted Arsenal to the possibility of cut-price deal on the vastly experienced defender, but Unai Emery denied the link.
Embed from Getty Images
Instead, it looks close to certain he’ll now join Fulham on loan for the remainder of the season. Former Chelsea-boss Claudio Ranieri is looking to bolster his backline to help the Cottagers dig in and stave off relegation in the second half of the campaign.
With 47 goals conceded at a rate of 2.24 per match so far this campaign, Fulham are very much in need of some more solidity at the back if they want to remain in the top flight.
The fact that Cahill is making the switch between to West London rivals will be not be lost on some supporters, but it may just be the case that this deal could make sense for all involved.
