Reports: Gary Cahill emerges as a shock transfer target for Manchester United in January

What's the rumour?

The Mirror reports that Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is looking to bring in Gary Cahill from his former club Chelsea to provide some stability in the fragile back line of United.

The Chelsea defender has himself expressed frustration over the lack of playing time under new manager Maurizio Sarri and refuses to consider his future elsewhere if the situation doesn't improve. Cahill is currently the third choice center back behind David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger.

In case you didn't know..

Chelsea signed Cahill in January 2012 at a transfer fee of approximately £7 million. He won the Champions League in his debut season with the Blues and then went on to win the Europa League, two times Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup. He played over 60 times for the National team as well.

Cahill recently retired from International duties after failing to make the starting line up for England in Russia. With only club football to play for, the lack of game time at Chelsea prompted him to say that -

"I don't want to jump the gun but as things stand at this time, probably, yes [I might have to leave in January],."

The heart of the matter

Jose Mourinho wanted to purchase a top quality center back in the summer transfer market, but the board refused to back him with more funds after he had already spent a fortune over the last couple of seasons. As a result, he failed to acquire the services of Diego Godin, Harry Maguire, or Toby Alderweireld in the summer.

Mourinho doesn't have faith in the defenders that United has at the moment and with Cahill's situation visibly unstable at Chelsea, the Portuguese could go for the defender whom he managed during his title-winning campaign with the Blues. Cahill will bring the solidity and also the experience which is currently lacking at United.

Rumor Rating - 6/10

The Mirror is a reliable source, and moreover United are in dire need of a center half, but with Cahill's age, he might not be the long-term solution of the defensive problems that the Red Devils has.

What's next

January is still a long way off, and a lot number of games to play between now and then. Cahill has been a loyal servant for Chelsea for six years and would be inching to cement his place in the starting line up with some excellent performances.

On the other hand, Jose Mourinho should keep faith in his present defenders and hope that they can get the job done and keep United in the hunt for the top 4 positions.