Gary Cahill believes that he has bonded with his new Chelsea teammates since joining the former Premier League champions last week.

The former Bolton Wanderers defender made the £7m switch to Stamford Bridge last Monday but has yet to make his debut for the Blues after being left out of their goalless draw with Norwich City on Saturday.

Andre Villas-Boas's side have been in Spain this week preparing for their FA Cup fourth-round clash against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

"Training has been really good and it has been enjoyable to get to know the lads," Cahill told the club's official website. "The trip has definitely helped me.

"I have only been here just over a week, so I've obviously still got to get to know the lads a lot more than I do now, but it's been great because we've spent most of the time together and I've got to know them a lot better than if I was back in England.

"There are a lot of different characters here, definitely. That's the one thing that's really different here and in that sense it's really good. There are some entertaining characters and they're great guys."

Cahill is expected to make his first start in a Chelsea shirt at Loftus Road this weekend.