da spicy bet： Over the past few seasons, Gary Cahill has established himself as one of the best central defenders in the Premier League. Having joined Chelsea from Bolton in 2012, he has been an integral part of the Blues’ success over that time and has a winner’s medal from every major club competition in just four years at the club.
da bet esporte： Forming a fantastic partnership with club captain John Terry, particularly during the title-winning campaign of 2015/16, he has also become an important part of the England set-up under Roy Hodgson, earning over 30 caps since joining the London club.
However, he has seemingly fallen out of favour this season for his club, his place in the Chelsea starting XI no longer a certainty. Some questionable performances during the turbulent first-half of this season coupled with the emergence of Kurt Zouma have led to the former Bolton man spending more time on the bench than he would like.
With the recent injury to Kurt Zouma however, one that will keep him out for six months, Cahill should find himself thrust back in to first-team action and able to add to just 11 starts so far this campaign.
Even during this rocky period for his club, Cahill remained a key part of Hodgson’s England side during the Autumn, the partnership between Chris Smalling and himself the preferred choice of the England manager.
His likely re-instatement to the Chelsea back-line should help solidify his position with the national side, and he is likely to be one of the first names on the list for the squad that travels to France in the summer. Despite the emergence of John Stones, and even with the reduced amount of first-team action so far this season, it seems likely to be Cahill and one other in the centre of defence for the summer tournament.
But there is one other name who could emerge as a threat to the 30-year old Chelsea man, both for club and country. With some good performances for fellow London club Crystal Palace, Scott Dann may yet force his way into the thinking of Roy Hodgson.
Dann has been an almost ever-present at the back for Palace under Pardew, earning the club’s Player of the Season award last time out and helping them to a 10th-placed finish. He has played every minute of every game so far this season and carries an even bigger goalscoring threat than his countryman, particularly from set-pieces, having found the back of the net five times already this campaign.
Dann was recently rumoured to be a target for Chelsea during the January transfer-window, although this may be as a long-term replacement for John Terry rather than Cahill. Even so, this would be a concern for Cahill’s place at Chelsea and the signing of young American defender Matt Miazga may also present a challenge to his place going forward.
It seems unlikely at this stage that Cahill would lose his spot in the England side as Hodgson clearly likes him, even making him vice-captain. But the player himself has raised concerns about his lack of Chelsea appearances and their possible impact on his place in the Euro squad, so clearly it’s something that weighs on his mind.
Dann has yet to even earn an England cap, so suggesting he could replace Cahill in the England set up may be sound a little foolish. But with two friendlies scheduled for next month, a call-up for the impressive looking 28-year old from Merseyside seems entirely possible, particularly given his good club form, and should he impress in those he may yet earn a spot in Hodgson’s squad.
The injury to Zouma could be a blessing in disguise for Cahill and, while no-one likes to see a fellow Pro injured, he will be glad of the opportunity to re-establish himself in the Chelsea side between now and the end of the season. This could help him ward off any threat to his England place from the emerging Dann, but it will be interesting to see how it develops and could be something to keep an eye on, particularly in the run up to the International Friendlies at the end of March.
Cahill’s lack of pace is a concern, but he has similar attributes to Dann and his increased experience at an international level will probably give him the edge, the England manager unlikely to throw the previously untested Palace man in at the deep end during a major competition – but stranger things have happened.
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