On this day in 2012: England defender Gary Cahill joins Chelsea from Bolton

Protracted talks ended with defender moving to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea signed Gary Cahill on this day in 2012 (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Archive)

Gary Cahill insisted he was never going to turn down the chance to join Chelsea after finally completing his £7million move from Bolton on this day in 2012.

Cahill put the finishing touches to a reported five-and-a-half-year contract, having spent more than a fortnight wrangling over personal terms that threatened to scupper the deal.

But the England defender suggested he had no intention of walking away from the protracted negotiations between his representatives and Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay.

Opportunities like this, you can't turn down

Gary Cahill

“Chelsea is a massive club, it is a club that looks to win trophies season in, season out and it is a big opportunity for me to be a part of that,” Cahill told the Blues’ official website at the time.

“Opportunities like this, you can’t turn down.”

Cahill reportedly settled on wages of £80,000-per-week – £20,000 less than the player was said to have demanded during initial talks.

He then travelled to London to undergo a medical and watched his new club’s 1-0 Premier League win over Sunderland.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas said: “He has good technical abilities, which is important in the way we want to play and to implement our philosophy.

“Competition will be tight for him, but we brought him in to become better as a team.”

There were no shortage of admirers for Cahill, with Arsenal seeing a bid rejected and Tottenham also going close to landing him.

But Chelsea were the only serious January transfer window bidders, with Bolton opting to cash in on a player in the final six months of his contract.

Cahill spent seven-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, making almost 300 appearances in all competitions and winning the Premier League twice, the Champions League, two FA Cups, two Europa League titles and the EFL Cup.