Southampton need to make Gary Cahill their top January transfer target

Football FanCast

By James Beavis

Published Sep 25, 2018

Chelsea defender Gary Cahill is ready to leave the club during the January transfer window unless he plays more regularly, and Southampton must make the 32-year-old their top target in the New Year.

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According to a report by BBC Sport on September 21, Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill says he will ask for a move in January if he continues to be left out of the first team, and Southampton have to make the 32-year-old their top transfer target in the New Year.

What's the word, then?

Well, the defender, who was captain under Antonio Conte, has found game time hard to come by under new manager Maurizio Sarri this season with the Italian using a formation that only incorporates two centre-backs, and he only made the 18-man squad for the first time in the Premier League this season against West Ham United on Sunday, playing the final 21 minutes of the match.

However, unless he gets more starts – he was only a substitute for the west London outfit's opening Europa League group game against PAOK on Thursday – then it seems as though he will look to bring an end to his seven-year spell with the club in January as he wants to be playing football in the latter stages of his career.

Why should Southampton sign him?

Despite the addition of Jannik Vestergaard to their backline during the summer, Saints are still looking shaky at the back and are conceding poor goals – as shown in the draw with Brighton and Hove Albion and the 3-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

The Dane and Wesley Hoedt still don't look to be the reliable options that Mark Hughes, whom Southampton fans on Twitter are far from happy with, needs right now if they are to pick up positive results, and it often seems as though a leader is needed at the heart of the defence to really get things organised – something Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte did previously.

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Cahill would undoubtedly bring this having skippered Chelsea, along with plenty of experience and quality given the career he has had.

The addition of the centre-back would be vital to Southampton's season, and would be the difference between them being involved in a relegation battle again or not.