Gary Cahill has been named Chelsea's new captain on a permanent basis.
Gary Cahill skippered the Blues for long spells of the 2016-17 campaign, although Chelsea legend John Terry was officially the Premier League club's captain last term.
Terry left Stamford Bridge for Aston Villa this summer, however, and Blues boss Antonio Conte has revealed that 31-year-old defender Cahill will lead the team into the new season.
"I think that it's right to continue with Cahill, if he plays, it's right he's the captain," the London Evening Standard quotes Conte as saying. "Why? Because he stayed in Chelsea for many years and played a lot of games and showed good characteristics to be this."
Cahill joined Chelsea from Bolton Wanderers in 2011, and he has made 239 appearances for Chelsea, managing an impressive 25 goals in the process.
While confirming that Cahill was his new leader, Conte also stressed that several other members of the Chelsea squad will need to step up in the absence of Terry,
"I think also we can have other captains in our team, it could be [Cesar] Azpilicueta, [David] Luiz, and also, in the future, it could be Thibaut Courtois, Cesc Fabregas," he said.
"I think every single player must improve in this [being big personalities in the dressing room] and understand [they have] to take more responsibility because we lost big players and we need now to find these new players to create this fundamental for Chelsea.
"It is very important for our future success to create this base. But I think right now it's right to give the armband to Gary. He's playing with the club for many years, he has the right characteristic to be a good captain."
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