Gary Cahill chooses Chelsea: Staying to fight, or waiting for madness to pass?

Gary Cahill had a nearly surreal January and is now staring down the barrel of a second half of the season as nightmarish as the first. If only something at Chelsea could make sense these days.

There is nothing unusual about players being linked to both Arsenal and Juventus. Arsenal are not at Juventus’ level, but they can pull from similar pools of players. It is a little less common, but certainly not unheard of, for players to be linked to both Arsenal and Fulham. These would normally be journeyman depth players, perhaps satisfying a homegrown quota. More players would go in one direction than the other, that’s for sure.

Rarely, though, are players linked to Juventus, Arsenal and Fulham. If only Fulham had been in the Premier League last year we could talk about the UEFA club coefficient gap between the Italian giants and the Cottagers. Juventus and Fulham are not teams that want, attract or have within the realm of possibility the same players. Unless that player is Gary Cahill.

Cahill was in the transfer and loan rumour mill with at least two London clubs – Arsenal and Fulham – for most of January. Despite being at opposite ends of the Premier League table, Fulham and Arsenal both desperately need someone to shore up their defence: survival and Champions League qualification, respectively, hinge on a stronger back-line.

Juventus came into the picture with under 48 hours left in the window. The rumour seemed too outlandish to be believable, as many last-minute rumours are. The rumour that Cahill had rejected Juventus’ entreaties was even more unbelievable. But nevertheless, they persisted.

The explanation attached to the rumours is that Cahill did not want to leave Chelsea for the same situation at Juventus: being the third centre-back (at best) in a two-man system. He would be behind legends Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini in the depth chart.

Ironically, this would have put him in direct competition with one-time Chelsea transfer target because one-time Maurizio Sarri protege Daniele Rugani. Rugani has only 160 more minutes than Cahill in all competitions this season.

The putative explanations for Cahill not taking a loan to Fulham make more sense. Fulham could not meet the wage demands, and Cahill did not want a relegation scrap. He was also looking for something more than a six-month loan, which in Fulham’s case would have meant the inclusion of some kind of relegation clause in a longer-term loan.

Oh, and on the subject of relegation risks, Cahill was also linked with a move to AS Monaco.

So now it is February 1. Gary Cahill may have turned down four loans, including one that would have brought him: a Serie A trophy for his shelf, the potential to play in the Champions League this year, the chance to play alongside two legendary centre-backs, a chance to get back in the gym and out-flex Cristiano Ronaldo (Cahill’s biceps > CR7’s six-pack, don’t @ me) and – most of all – actually play some football.

Cahill has not been in a matchday squad since Boxing Day and has not played since the dead rubber against PAOK Salonika on November 29. His situation at Chelsea seemed enough to have him looking for any port in the storm. His contract is up at the end of the season and his overall prospects are already going in the wrong direction simply on account of his age. Not playing regularly for an entire season could diminish the quality of any move he hopes to make this summer.

A relegation battle in either of two leagues or sitting on a different bench but with a much better team certainly seems more promising than sticking with the devil he knows. His potential situation at Juventus could hardly be worse than what he is going through at Chelsea, but at least the Italian club has plenty of potential upsides. Other than the comforts of home, Stamford Bridge does not.

Cahill could be banking on his ability to always fight and claw his way back into any side in any situation. Despite Maurizio Sarri’s steadfast refusal to let anything in the real world sway his decisions, Cahill may think he can do it again. Whether that comes via an injury to one of the two regular centre-backs or faith that even Sarri will see David Luiz for what he is, Cahill may have confidence in himself combined with comfort in his surroundings, and thinks this is the best option.

Or perhaps his confidence is taking him in another direction. He has been around Chelsea long enough to know how things go and the direction things are going in. He may look at his contract expiring on June 30 of this year and say “This will far outlast Maurizio Sarri.”

The next coach will value his defensive ability, leadership, experience – all those things that make his exile so inexplicable. That will be enough for him to get an over-30 one-year extension, which he can then use to extend his career properly at Chelsea. Perhaps even to the end.

Gary Cahill was incredibly open and sanguine about the realities of his Chelsea career just a few months ago. But given several opportunities to leave in January for a wide palette of clubs, he chose to stay. He must know something that we do not, and in a typical Chelsea 2019 way, that gives us more hope than anything else.