Essien on the bench for Chelsea

Gary Cahill was at Stamford Bridge today to watch Chelsea’s Barclays Premier League game against Sunderland after undergoing a medical ahead of his move from Bolton.

The England defender, on the brink of completing his £7m transfer, saw his new employers draft in Oriol Romeu, with Michael Essien on the bench for the first time this season following knee surgery.

Nicklas Bendtner returned from injury for in-form Sunderland as they also made one change.

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Romeu, Meireles, Ramires, Torres, Mata.

Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Malouda, Lukaku, Sturridge, Hutchinson, Bertrand.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Kilgallon, O’Shea, Richardson, Larsson, Cattermole, Vaughan, McClean, Sessegnon, Bendtner.

Subs: Westwood, Turner, Gardner, Wickham, Ji, Meyler, Elmohamady.

Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)