Source: Telegraph
Bolton manager Gary Megson talks up value of Gary Cahill
The 23 year-old has attracted the attention of Manchester United and Arsenal. Sir Alex Ferguson has identified the centre-half as a possible long-term replacement for Rio Ferdinand at Old Trafford, while Arsène Wenger is another known admirer of Cahill’s blossoming defensive qualities.
Cahill, an uncapped regular in Fabio Capello’s England squads this season, will be under the spotlight on Saturday when Bolton face United at Old Trafford.
A £20 million valuation has already been placed on the former Aston Villa trainee by Bolton and, having handed the player a new four-year contract in August that nullified an £8 million escape clause in his previous deal, Megson is confident that the Reebok outfit are well placed to command a high fee should the big guns target Cahill at the end of the season.
Megson said: “I don’t know if we face a battle to keep Gary because he has signed a new contract and he’s extremely well paid.
“One of the reasons why we gave him a new contract is because, when he came to us from Villa, his people wanted a clause in his contract that would allow him to move for a certain amount.
“In my view, with what he has become, that figure would have been peanuts and it has been negotiated out of his contract.
“So if anything happens in the summer, at least we’ll be able to look at it and decide what’s going to happen. Anything we might get would at least be driven by the market.”
Cahill’s rise to prominence has caught many by surprise, but former Burnley manager Steve Cotterill, who handed him a debut as an 18 year-old having signed him on a season-long loan at Turf Moor in 2004, insists that his ability has always been evident.
Cotterill said: “Aston Villa bring their young players up terrifically well. They give them a tough upbringing, but in Gary’s case he has certainly benefited from it.
“He is a fantastic lad and an absolute dream to work with. He was a diamond in his season with us and playing in the Championship will have toughened him up because it is real blood-and-thunder stuff, the kind of challenge kids don’t face in the reserves.
“I wanted to sign him permanently and I kept on at the chairman, Barry Kilby, to make Villa an offer. He might just have been affordable.
“Gary Megson deserves a lot of credit for taking a chance on him 18 months ago, though, and if Bolton do move him on for a big fee, then that will be just reward.
“But I’m not surprised that the likes of Manchester United are being linked with Gary. He’s a top player and he deserves everything that will come his way.”
