Football
Michael Cantillon 7y

Gary Cahill named new captain of Chelsea by manager Antonio Conte

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has confirmed defender Gary Cahill is the new captain of the club.

Cahill, 31, skippered Chelsea for the majority of last season with club captain John Terry out of the team, and he has now been rewarded with the job permanently.

The England international joined Chelsea from Bolton Wanderers in January 2012 and has gone on to make 239 appearances for the club in all competitions over his five-and-a-half seasons at Stamford Bridge.

"I think that it's right to continue with Cahill, if he plays, it's right he's the captain," Conte is quoted as saying by the Evening Standard. "Why? Because he stayed in Chelsea for many years and played a lot of games and showed good characteristics to be this."

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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