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.
“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.
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1 Netherlands: Koeman's side wrap up group stage campaign with away draw
Netherlands ended their Group A3 campaign in the Nations League with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina at Stadion Bilino Polje on Tuesday.
Ronald Koeman's side, who had already secured their place in the quarter-final heading into the final group fixture, finished with nine points - five fewer than group winners Germany.
Brian Brobbey gave a second-string Oranje the breakthrough in the 24th minute when he headed home a cross from Noa Lang following a short corner kick.
But Ermedin Demirovic scored on the rebound, after Edin Dzeko's initial effort was stopped by goalkeeper Mark Flekken, to help Bosnia salvage a point in the 67th minute, as the hosts finished bottom of the group with two points.
Earlier, Dzeko's shot was cleared off the line by Jorrel Hato in the first half and the Bosnia captain also had a goal ruled out for a foul in the build-up just past the hour mark, before Sergej Barbarez's side found the leveller.
Data Debrief: Bosnia's spirited comeback
The home side ended the first period without registering a single shot on target and only creating an expected goals (xG) of 0.54, compared to the Netherlands' xG of 1.29.
But they were a much-improved side after the break as they restricted the visitors to zero shots on target while recording three of their own to secure a point. They ended the second half with an xG of 0.46, which bettered the Netherlands' xG of 0.37 despite being lower than their first-half effort.
Prior to this fixture, Bosnia and Herzegovina had lost all four of their 2024-25 Nations League matches in which they were losing at half-time. But they fought back this time to end their League A stay with a draw.
Hungary 1-1 Germany: Late penalty forces visitors to settle for a draw
Germany were denied victory away to Hungary in their final Nations League group game after conceding a 99th-minute equaliser to a Dominik Szoboszlai penalty.
Julian Nagelsmann made nine changes from Germany's 7-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina last time out, with this match confirmed as a dead rubber before kick-off, and they struggled for fluency in the first half.
Germany failed to have a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes and lost the xG battle 0.51-0.17.
Things soon picked up, with Leroy Sane having a goal disallowed following a VAR review before Kai Havertz hit the post with a volley just three minutes later, having only come on as a substitute a minute before. They had their goal after 76 minutes when Felix Nmecha was quickest to react to a rebound to score his first international goal.
But Hungary were not to be denied after appeals for a penalty in the 97th minute for an alleged handball against Robin Koch. Following a VAR review, the spot kick was given and Szoboszlai earned a point for the hosts.
Germany's position as winners of Group A3 had already been secured prior to this match, as had Hungary's finishing place of third. Nagelsmann's side will now advance to the Nations League quarter-final, where they will face a second-placed side from League A. Hungary, meanwhile, will face a second-placed side from League B in a relegation play-off.
Data debrief: Germany keep scoring streak going
Germany extended their run of scoring in Nations League matches to seven consecutive games with their 1-1 draw in Budapest.
Nagelsmann's side conclude their group campaign with 18 goals in six matches, helped by their 7-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina last time out.
Following their draw today, Germany have now scored in 12 straight matches, including friendlies.
Bahrain 2-2 Australia: Yengi rescues point for visitors with stoppage-time equaliser
Kusini Yengi was the hero for Australia after scoring in the first minute and the 97th to help salvage a 2-2 draw away to Bahrain in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
The result extended manager Tony Popovic's unbeaten start with the Socceroos to four matches, although three of those have been draws.
Things got off to a great start for the visitors, going a goal up inside 40 seconds after Portsmouth forward Kusini Yengi nipped in to intercept an underhit back pass from Sayid Mahdi Baqer and find the net.
Yengi had the next moment of note after hitting the post on 61 minutes from a Riley McGree cross, before a poor touch let him down when well-placed three minutes later.
Australia were made to pay for not killing the game, when Mahdi Abduljabbar lobbed Mat Ryan from 45 yards to get Bahrain level in the 75th minute. It went from bad to worse two minutes later, when Abduljabbar got his second following a defensive mix-up between Ryan and Hayden Matthews.
But Yengi rescued his side deep into stoppage time, reacting quickest to bury a ricocheting ball in the six-yard box. The result was Australia's fourth draw in six matches and leaves them second in Group C on seven points, with teams from third to sixth – including fifth-placed Bahrain – all on six.
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