Why Chelsea must avoid selling Gary Cahill at all cost
Chelsea have made a wonderful start to their season under new manager Maurizio Sarri and currently boast of a perfect record with four wins out of four. While Sarri’s new signings – Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho – have been amongst the regulars in the first-team and have hit the ground running, there are some players in the squad who have failed to make it to the matchday squads.
Left-back Emerson Palmieri is yet to feature in a single matchday squad while Davide Zappacosta has been among the substitutes but hasn’t been called into action by the manager. However, the absence of the Italian duo from the first-team picture has largely been due to the heroics of their counterparts Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta.
But the omission of the experienced Gary Cahill, who currently earns £100,000-a-week, is quite inexplicable. The 32-year-old centre-back was a regular starter for the Blues under Antonio Conte but he has been frozen out of the team by Sarri.
Cahill joined Chelsea back in 2012 from Bolton Wanderers and since then, he has established himself as one of the finest centre-backs in England. He formed a formidable partnership with former skipper John Terry and helped Chelsea to their first ever UEFA Champions League crown in 2011/12. His contribution at the back was pivotal to their Premier League titles in 2014/15 and 2016/17.
The Englishman has made a total of 282 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions, netting 25 times. Cahill was also a part of Gareth Southgate’s team that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia.
Although Chelsea have won all their games so far, they have looked far from convincing at the back. While Antonio Rudiger has shown signs of improvement, David Luiz’s poor run of form has continued. This should be concerning for Sarri, given that Chelsea are yet to face the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Luiz has found it difficult to settle into the backline. At times, his awkward positioning has made him look like a square peg in a round hole. It has been quite evident from his performances that he lacks understanding with his fellow defenders. The Brazilian has been poor with his marking and positioning which have often allowed the attackers to get the better of him inside the box. Confused at times, Luiz has given the ball away cheaply to the opposition in dangerous areas.
While Marcos Alonso has often ventured forward to make things happen in the other half of the pitch, Azpilicueta has been precise with his decision-making. The fact that the centre-backs haven’t been able to find their feet, has often exposed Chelsea to fast counter-attacks. The defence lacks an effective leader whose commanding presence at the back could keep things tight.
And there is no one better than Gary Cahill who can perform that role with total efficiency. With his towering stature of 6ft 4 inches, Cahill should provide that much-needed physical presence in the box.
His aerial ability is better than any other defender in the team and the 32-year-old is definitely an asset to the Blues while defending set-pieces. Not only is he extremely calm and composed at the back but is also an expert at reading the trajectory of the passes to perfection. He rarely gets his tackles mistimed and also boasts of exceptional attacking prowess for a centre-back.
Andreas Christensen is still young and is going through the developmental phase of his career and Kurt Zouma has been loaned out to Everton. Given that Luiz has been below-par this season, Sarri should not hesitate to start with Cahill in some of the league games. Chelsea must excel on all fronts and Sarri will need adequate depth in his squad to rotate the players.
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Letting Cahill depart will be a blunder that Chelsea cannot afford to commit this season. Even at 32, he is still the best centre-back in the squad and Sarri should not hold him back for too long.
