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Gary Cahill to Aston Villa is the latest one doing the rounds on the rumour mill.

Villa have form for bringing former England captains to Villa Park, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility. Is it?!

It would make sense for Villa with Dean Smith only able to call upon two natural central defenders in the form of James Chester and Axel Tuanzebe.

Whether at 32, Cahill would want to drop out of the Premier League, even on a loan basis, remains to be seen, and there is reportedly interest from abroad, but there's no doubting he has unfinished business at the club where it all began.

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The Bodymoor Heath academy graduate has gone from strength to strength since being deemed surplus to requirements and leaving B6 in 2008.

Here we reflect on his time in the West Midlands - and re-ask the question, a decade on, why did then Villa boss Martin O'Neill let him go?

Football editor Mat Kendrick looks back at O'Neill's decision to sell Cahill, charts the centre-half's glittering career from before and since that regrettable choice and ponders whether he could be tempted back.

The early days

Cahill came through the youth set-up at his local club AFC Dronfield in Derbyshire.

He was scouted by several clubs but it was Villa who snapped him up and recruited him to the Bodymoor Heath academy at the age of 15.

In 2004-05, to aid his development he had a season-long loan at Burnley in the Championship. It worked - he made 32 appearances and cleaned up at the end of season awards, winning the player of the season and young player gongs. He was only 18.

Claret and blue breakthrough

Cahill’s claret and blue debut was certainly memorable. It came with a start in the League Cup in September 2005 - and Villa were 3-1 down at Wycombe Wanderers by half time.

But David O’Leary’s team recovered to win 8-3 at Adams Park.

He had to wait until the following year - April Fool’s Day 2006 - for his Premier League debut. Villa lost 5-0 at Highbury. It was 3-0 when Cahill came on as a 52nd minute replacement for Ulises de la Cruz.

Cahill kept a clean sheet on his first top flight start the following weekend in a 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion - but it was another Villa Park derby the week after that which provided his best claret and blue memory.

Yes, you’ve guessed it, that was when he scored that stunning overhead kick in front of the Holte End in a 3-1 win over Steve Bruce's Blues.

He kept his place in O’Leary’s team for the run-in with six consecutive starts.

Cometh the MON

O’Leary went, O’Neill arrived and it was November 2006 before Cahill was back in the team.

He actually made 21 appearances league and cup in O’Neill’s first season at Villa, 20 of them starts. Cahill was used at centre-back, mainly alongside either Liam Ridgewell or Olof Mellberg.

However, there was a strong hint the writing was on the wall for Cahill at Villa when O’Neill signed two centre halves towards the end of the summer 2007 transfer window.

Zat Knight’s arrival from Fulham is generally regarded as the transfer that would eventually pave the way for Cahill’s departure five months later, but Villa also signed Curtis Davies from Albion on loan with a view to a permanent deal.

Villa signed Carlos Cuellar the following summer and James Collins and Richard Dunne a year later.

After a substitute appearance in the opening day Premier League defeat at home to Liverpool and a start in the 5-0 League Cup win at Wrexham, Cahill was ushered out on loan to Sheffield United for three months.

He returned to Villa in mid-December 2007 but didn’t play for the club again.

January scramble

By the start of 2008 it was clear O’Neill viewed Cahill as being surplus to requirements. He tended to favour a central defensive partnership of Knight and Martin Laursen.

Sheffield United, Besiktas and Birmingham City were among the clubs keen on signing him and Blues boss Alex McLeish admitted his interest.

“Gary Cahill is a player we admire and would like to take him here as well,” said McLeish.

“We will just have to wait and see what happens over the next 48 hours. I don’t know how far down the line the Bolton thing is. But we have ruled ourselves in on anything that is happening.”

But while Blues wanted him on loan, Villa preferred a permanent transfer and he was sold to Bolton for a reported £5 million fee.

Many unhappy returns

On his first two returns to Villa Park in April 2008 and December 2008 and November 2009 Villa but a total of 13 goals past Cahill’s Trotters with 4-0 , 4-2 and 5-1 wins.

By the last of those teams, with more than a hint of irony, Knight, the player who forced him out of Villa, was his Bolton defensive partner.

He has made up for it since, first game against Villa for Chelsea came on as a half time sub in a 4-2 win at Villa Park in March 2012. Then he helped keep a clean sheet as Chelsea hammered Paul Lambert’s team 8-0 at Stamford Bridge in December 2012

England recognition

Despite those setbacks for Cahill he impressed enough with the Lancashire club to win his first England cap.

Having represented the Three Lions at under-21 level during his time at Villa, he was selected for the senior squad for the first time in June 2009 but had to wait until September 2010 for his debut when he came on as a substitute for Michael Dawson in a 4-0 victory over Bulgaria at Wembley.

He has since gone on to win more than 50 caps for his country and captained them for the first time in the October 2015 Euro 2016 qualifying win over Estonia.

He has served as vice captain to Wayne Rooney for a few years and wore the armband himself. He was selected for the World Cup in Russia 2018, but was restricted to a bit part role for Gareth Southgate's semi-finalists.

London calling

His progress at Bolton and with England saw him coveted by the Premier League’s big boys and he joined Chelsea for a reported £7 million fee in January 2012.

The rest, as they say, is history.

It’s easiest to just list his honours with the Stamford Bridge club. Premier League 2014–15, 2016-17, FA Cup 2011–12, 2017-18, League Cup 2014–15, UEFA Champions League 2011–12, UEFA Europa League 2012–13.

He replaced John Terry as Chelsea captain.

What O’Neill said

(Image: Credit: Dave Evitts)

“Have I any regrets that Cahill left? No.

“He wasn’t exactly kicked out of the door, but Gary got to the stage where he wanted to play first-team football.

“He felt he wasn’t going to get that in the coming weeks or months on a regular basis at Villa and, if we couldn’t keep him, then we don’t really want to stop people from making progress.

“Bolton, Birmingham and Sheffield United were interested.

“Bolton paid us £5million for the lad plus the sell-on fee and we were happy to do it.

“He was happy to go, we are happy and we still remain happy with the situation.

“Gary wanted to play regularly somewhere and Bolton gave him that chance.”

What Cahill said

“Martin O’Neill is a great manager. Everybody makes mistakes sometimes and he’s moved on. They’ve brought in some good centre-backs now, they’re doing well.

“When I was there the fans were great and when I left there was no ill-feeling towards the fans. They were great to me.

“It wasn’t the fans who chose to get rid of me.

“When you get a little knock back in your career, it gives you something to strive for.

“In the back of your mind you’re always thinking ‘I’ll show you’.

“I know now that me leaving was the best thing. Martin O’Neill let me go and he obviously felt that was the right thing at the time.

“But you go on and want to prove people wrong. That’s what keeps you going.”

Here and now

It has emerged this week that Cahill could be allowed to leave.

He initially fell out of favour under Antonio Conte and new Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has favoured David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger as his centre-halves so far this season, with Cahill not even on the bench much of the time.

Andreas Christensen and youngster Ethan Ampadu also seem to be ahead of him in the defensive pecking order.

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Along with Chelsea's other Wolrd Cup players Cahill was permitted a late return to training after Russia 2018.

Sarri puts Cahill's absence from matchday duty down to this - and has told the Chelsea club captain to remain patient.

“With Cahill I think at this moment for a defender it’s more difficult to play in my team after only 20 days of training,” Sarri said ahead of the weekend win at Newcastle.

“It’s easier for an offensive player, but for a defender it’s more difficult so at this moment he needs to have much more training with us.

“I told him that he needs to be patient now but that he is very important for us.”

As for Villa, it has been reported in the Turkish press that they are among the clubs rivalling Galatasaray.

After being on the receiving end of Cahill's most memorable Villa moment as Blues boss in 2006, it would be an impressive feat if Villa could get him back for a hero's return in claret and blue.