Chelsea boss André Villas-Boas praises ‘immense’ Gary Cahill

André Villas-Boas has heaped praise on Gary Cahill following the news that Chelsea have agreed a fee with Bolton for the defender – but stressed that the Blues are still “miles” away from agreeing personal terms with the player.

Bolton boss Owen Coyle on Friday confirmed that Cahill is to begin discussions with the Londoners after the two clubs settled on a fee, believed to be in the region of £7m.

And Chelsea manager Villas-Boas is confident the 26-year-old centre-half would be a valuable addition to his squad if the transfer goes through.

“Gary has been involved in a fighting struggle with Bolton and a fight for position in the league,” Villas-Boas told a news conference on Friday.

“I think his technical attributes are immense. His pace is fantastic as well. He’s a player who at international level has been playing magnificently well and, recently, alongside John Terry. He can add to this squad or any squad in the Premier League.”

Villas-Boas confirmed that an agreement with the player is yet to be reached but said that he is confident that the defender will join the Blues in January.

“We are still miles apart regarding the agreement with the player,” said the Chelsea boss. “We will continue to monitor this situation as we are continuing to monitor the other targets that we have for that position.

“I would reiterate that we are still very far away in terms of agreement with the player and I’m unsure if the player is going to join us or not.”