Fulham expected to lead summer charge for Gary Cahill — report

England’s Brave Gary Cahill is “not likely to be short of suitors” this summer after he leaves Chelsea upon expiry of his contract. Despite his advancing age and having not kicked a ball in anger since November, the 33-year-old is expected to field plenty of offers — although probably not from Aston Villa, who will be hoping to be frequenting Premier League pitches next season.

But if Villa’s promotion bid fails for the second year in a row, they could renew their interest in the Chelsea captain, alongside Fulham, who are heading straight back down after just a single season back in the top flight. There’s also been some talk of West Ham United and Glasgow potentially being interested, but it’s likely that most of Cahill’s offers will come from the second division (that’s what Villa appear to be expecting, at the very least).

Cahill had already refused offers of similar quality back in January — including Fulham and Villa — when Chelsea were reportedly ready to allow him to leave, either on loan or even permanently. He chose to stay but has not gotten any closer to actually playing at least one more time for the club he’s called home since January 2012. With Chelsea in the middle of a fight to the very end for the Premier League and the Europa League, we may not get that chance to say goodbye either.