Antonio Conte has confirmed Gary Cahill will captain Chelsea next season in the wake of John Terry’s departure.
The Italian is the first manager in 13 years that has been forced to select a new club captain after opting against renewing Terry’s contract towards the end of last season.
Terry join Championship side Aston Villa earlier this summer and Conte has now decided to promote Cahill as captain despite the fact there were suggestions David Luiz or Cesar Azpilicueta could get the nod.
“I think that it’s right to continue with Cahill, if he plays, it’s right he’s the captain,” the London Evening Standard quote 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.”
The 31-year-old spent the majority of last season with the armband after Terry dropped down the pecking order and was limited to just nine league appearances all season.
Cahill enjoyed a tremendous season in Conte’s first year at the club and even proved a real threat in the opposition penalty box. In fact, he scored as many Premier League goals last season as he managed in his previous four campaigns combined (6).
