Gary Cahill has turned into quite the little star recently. Speculation is coming from all sides about performing for England. He definitely has quality competition, and were I in Capello's place I wouldn't play Cahill before Ferdinand or Terry in a competitive match, however in a friendly I would definitely give Cahill his chance (probably partnered with Terry, given the choice). Fabio was even at St. Andrews and having gone through the line-ups, I'm guessing Cahill's the one he was directing his designer glasses at. Which is fantastic for Cahill, as he had a great game, especially shining in the air. England has two qualifiers coming up (against Ukraine and Belarus) and a friendly against Brazil. Given that England have already qualified for the World Cup all three of these fixtures are low pressure and would be the perfect for Capello to let Cahill prove himself. Megson's come out several times backing Cahill, and Gary himself has come out with an endearingly humble statement about the matter:
I keep trying, giving 100 percent and then we’ll see where it takes me. You have to be positive, and confident in your own ability. I am hungry to get there and hopefully it will work out for me in the end.
So all signs are pointing to yes for the England call up (and actual playing time), which I am really pleased about. Cahill's been one of my favorites for a while now, and I definitely think he has the quality to be an international, and it is great news for Cahill, but is it good news for Bolton? I'm not so sure, because Capello wasn't the only one in the stands on Saturday. The scouts of a certain Scotsman who runs a certain football team which is rather near the Reebok were there too. Cahill's also been linked with Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, and Tottenham. If the rumors are to be believed (which they probably shouldn't be), 'Arry has already set aside 20 million.
This puts us in a tough position as Cahill is definitely the rock of our back four, but 20,000,000 pounds is a lot of money (I put all the zeros in there to remind you how much money it is). We could bring in some depth with 20 mil. Megson has come out with a statement that he won't be selling Cahill. But really can our board pass it up? Our defense is definitely bad right now and Cahill is the one protecting our goal difference. I really don't want him to be sold but come January it may be inevitable.