Chelsea could have to make to without John Terry until March, as he is suffering from a back injury which can be cured only by rest. Given that Carlo Ancelotti chose not to replace Ricardo Carvalho in the 
summer Chelsea’s lack of depth in the centre of defence has been exposed. According to the report, Cahill is now a top target.
Cahill has impressed greatly for Bolton over the past couple of years and scored five goals in 29 appearances last season to help haul Owen Coyle’s side to Premier League safety. The defender was thought to be in contention for Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad until an arm injury ruled him out for much of the season. He has since been awarded his first England cap in September against Bulgaria, pushing his buy-out clause up to £17.5million.
Bolton chairman Phil Gartside admitted last week that he may have to sell some of his stars in January.
However, if Chelsea do want to sign Cahill they will face competition from a host of top clubs including Arsenal and Tottenham. Although Arsene Wenger purchased two centre-backs over the summer, Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci , it is thought that he may want to add a solid and relatively youthful presence to the Arsenal back four, with Cahill fitting the bill. Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp has long-term injury worries at Tottenham over both Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate.