Chelsea swoop on Arsenal target Cahill

Chelsea are poised to swoop on Arsenal target Gary Cahill in January.

Bolton have agreed to sell the £7 million England defender, rather than lose him for nothing when his contract expires in June, according to Mirror Football.

Chelsea are prepared to pay the fee Bolton want and Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas has been given the go-ahead to do a deal.

Talks have moved along so fast that the 26-year-old will be cleared for Stamford Bridge after the Christmas games, the report added.

Villas-Boas is ready to ship out centre-back Alex, while David Luiz’s form has been repeatedly questioned.

Chelsea could also add Everton’s Jack Rodwell to their squad in January, although the cash-strapped Toffees will want around £25 million for the midfielder.

However, Everton manager David Moyes has dismissed speculation linking Chelsea with a bid for Rodwell.

The England Under-21 international, who made his debut for Fabio Capello's senior squad last month, is a priority target for Villas-Boas.

Moyes, however, insists there has been no contact from Stamford Bridge regarding the 20-year-old, who has played just 27 minutes of Premier League football since matches against Spain and Sweden.

"I have had no offers, no contact from Chelsea - there would not be any other words I could add to that," said the Scot.

"There is nothing from me. We've had no phone call."

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