Chelsea will reward captain Gary Cahill for his six years of service to the club by allowing him to leave on loan in January and effectively bring an end to his Stamford Bridge career.

Cahill is out of contract at the end of the season and will leave on a free transfer, but Chelsea will take the unusual step of letting him go on loan before then in the next transfer window.

Chelsea normally insist all players sign new contracts before being allowed to leave on loan, but the club are willing to make an exception for Cahill because of his achievements.

Having joined Chelsea in January 2012 from Bolton Wanderers, Cahill has won the Champions League, the Europa League, two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup with the Blues – making him one of the most successful players in the club’s history.

But, despite holding on to the captaincy, the 32-year-old has dropped down the pecking order since Maurizio Sarri’s arrival as head coach and was not even on the substitutes’ bench for the draw with Everton.