Cold Shower: Aston Villa not close to signing Gary Cahill…yet

Gary Cahill is not an imminent arrival at Aston Villa. This, after a national article went on to say Villa beat out several Premier League clubs for his signature.

Former Aston Villa centre-back Gary Cahill is a free agent at 33 after his eight-year stay at Stamford Bridge came to an end. With Villa’s lack of options in central defense and a squad need for Premier League experience, Cahill is a logical choice to fill out the claret and blue backline.

Early Saturday morning, a national report from the Daily Star linked the player with an imminent move to the club. In which, Aston Villa beat out West Ham United and Arsenal (?) for his signature.

Hours later, Gregg Evans over at BirminghamLive threw cold water on the rumor, stating specifically that nothing was close. He did, however, suggest the door was open for such a move, but that it was not close at the moment.

The tweet is linked below:

Cahill spent parts of four seasons in the Aston Villa first-team set-up from 2004-2007 before a permanent move to Bolton Wanders in January 2008. There, he went on to make 100+ top flight appearances, earning an England debut along the way. Seasons pass, and Cahill is a stalwart at Chelsea and the Three Lions, where he made two UEFA Euro squads and two FIFA World Cup squads. In all, Cahill scored 25 goals in 290 competitive Chelsea fixtures from his centre-back position.

Villa Verdict:

I think most agree that Cahill would be a solid Aston Villa addition on a one-year contract. It’s virtually risk-free, and helps fill out the right centre-back position without being locked-up long-term in a different player. With the reported values on Bristol’s Adam Webster and Bournemouth’s Tyrone Mings, signing Cahill would be a good stopgap measure.

Now, whether a deal ultimately happens is anyone’s guess. It could happen, but nothing is close, it seems.