Cahill and Benfica’s David Luiz are among the potential targets being considered by Chelsea to strengthen their defence following a dreadful run of just one win in their past eight Premier League games.
Abramovich, though, has not spent more than £20 million on a player since the failed signing of Andrei Shevchenko in 2006 and has become far more circumspect in the transfer market, particularly with new Uefa rules looming on financial ‘fair play’.
Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, has already outlined a desire to sign new players this month and will carefully assess Alex when he returns from Brazil this week following treatment on his injured knee.
