Premier League Transfer News: Former Chelsea skipper Gary Cahill joins Crystal Palace

Modified Aug 06, 2019 12:38 GMT

What's the story?

Crystal Palace have officially signed Gary Cahill. The 33-year-old veteran centre back was available for free after having not been offered a new contract by Chelsea.

In case you didn't know

Gary Cahill, an Aston Villa Academy product, made his professional debut for the club in 2004. The defender spent four seasons at Villa Park before moving to Bolton Wanderers in 2008. Another four seasons later Cahill was yet again on the move, this time joining Chelsea in 2012.

Gary Cahill spent eight seasons in Chelsea winning almost every major honour available with the club before finally making his last appearance for The Blues last season. Cahill made over 290 appearances and scored 25 times for the blues across all competitions.

The heart of the matter

Gary Cahill has officially joined Crystal Palace on a two-year deal. The former England international was unveiled along with the club's much anticipated third kit.

Gary Cahill, while speaking in his first official interview as a Palace player said:

I’m hungry to prolong my career as long as I possibly can.I feel like I’m in great shape and whoever I play for, I’d like to think that I give it 110% and leave everything out there, so hopefully that will be good enough for the manager, my team-mates and also the fans

Former England manager Roy Hodgson was delighted at having one of his old boys joining the club

I’m delighted that Gary has joined us. He’s a fantastic footballer who brings a wealth of international and Premier League experience. Having worked alongside Gary during my time as England manager, I know that he is going to be a valuable asset and I’m so happy to be working with him again

👋 Welcome, @GaryJCahill! Pre-order our new third kit today 👉 https://t.co/HKG8BlhLbl #CPFC pic.twitter.com/G8JCVPK6O3
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) August 5, 2019