Chelsea’s defender Gary Cahill celebrates scoring against Everton on April 30, 2017
LONDON, United Kingdom, Jul 24- Gary Cahill has been named as Chelsea’s new permanent captain after the departure of long-time skipper John Terry.
Cahill wore the armband for much of last season after fellow centre-half Terry was largely restricted to a substitute’s role.
But Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has now confirmed that the England international will be captain on a permanent basis, albeit he wants the club’s other experienced players to also show their leadership qualities.
“I think that it’s right to continue with Cahill. If he plays, it’s right he’s the captain,” said Conte.
“Why? Because he stayed in Chelsea for many years and played a lot of games and showed good characteristics to be this.
“I think also we can have other captains in our team, could be [Cesar] Azpilicueta, [David] Luiz, and also, in the future, it could be Thibaut Courtois, Cesc Fabregas.
“I think every single player must improve in this 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.”
