Gary Cahill: Crystal Palace sign former Chelsea defender

Last updated on .From the section Crystal Palacecomments27

Gary Cahill
Gary Cahill (right) made just two substitute appearances for Chelsea in the Premier League last season

Crystal Palace have signed former England and Chelsea defender Gary Cahill on a two-year deal.

The 33-year-old was released by Chelsea at the end of last season after seven years with the club that saw him win eight major honours.

The former Bolton and Aston Villa defender won 61 caps for England before "stepping aside" from international football in August 2018.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge," said Cahill.

"I'm hungry to prolong my career as long as I possibly can - I feel like I'm in great shape 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."

Cahill had been a first-team regular for Chelsea since the 2012-13 season but made only two Premier League appearances last term.

He is Palace's third signing of the summer after Stephen Henderson and Jordan Ayew.

Palace boss Roy Hodgson said: "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."

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27 comments

  • Comment posted by cfceuropeanchampions, at 10:27 6 Aug 2019

    All the best. Gutted you were frozen out last - your still our best defender/attacker from set pieces, which we'llsorely miss. I definitely won't forget your stature in the CL final.

  • Comment posted by Gazza1955, at 10:44 6 Aug 2019

    Great leader and solid, brave defender. Frozen out and disrespected in final season at CFC. He'll do a good job for a couple of seasons at Palace

  • Comment posted by Coolverine, at 11:42 6 Aug 2019

    A good guy who keeps himself in shape, will do a job for Roy & Palace.

  • Comment posted by Glad All Over - CPFC, at 10:36 6 Aug 2019

    In isolation, this is a good signing for us.

    However, our squad is already pretty old.

    Max Meyer is 24 next month and is the youngest player to make any number of appearances for us last season.

    Most of our squad are in their late twenties or early thirties.

    We desperately need some youth in the squad, otherwise we will need to replace an entire squad at once and that is impossible

  • Comment posted by The Hypocrite, at 12:57 6 Aug 2019

    9. Posted by Roy of the Rovers on

    So Palace sell their best defender for 50M and bring in an ageing, slow defender to replace him on a freebie, what happened to the 50M?

    ---

    Erm, maybe they haven't spent it yet, and it's still in the bank?

    Or maybe they're still looking for a suitable replacement right back?

  • Comment posted by chris123, at 12:09 6 Aug 2019

    Think that's good bit of business for Palace, he's getting on abit however you can't replace experience - Still need few more signings before deadline.

  • Comment posted by Beasts, at 10:35 6 Aug 2019

    Crystal Palace have done some great business to get a big sum for AWB, replace him at no cost with Cahill who should still have 2-3 years in the tank. Keeping Zaha in the process. Nice work Palace

  • Comment posted by U17763658, at 14:11 6 Aug 2019

    Fantastic pick up for Palace.

    Gary is now with a loyal club & loyal fans.

    All the best from a Hammer.

  • Comment posted by tonyspooner654, at 11:07 6 Aug 2019

    As a Palace supporter i'm not sure what to make of this. Is an upgrade to Dann but at 33 probably only got 2 years left in him, but not injury prone like Sakho and Dann, so this a good addition.

    Up front is where we are seriously lacking. In a way, if Everton are going to offer £65m and Tosan (sp?) and McCarthy I think we should snap their hand off. If not keep him.

    Going to be a bumpy ride.

  • Comment posted by MT01234, at 10:54 6 Aug 2019

    Cahill has struggled to make the first team at Chelsea for sometime now and he will now have to up his game as the quality of the players around him and especially not having Kante sweep up things is going to make things much harder. Would Cahill at the age of 33 be able to do it? Hope so and he has remained injury free so could be a good signing for Palace for this season and maybe next season.

  • Comment posted by Tony, at 15:23 6 Aug 2019

    He is a good signing for Palace. I am surprised someone like Arsenal didn't go for him. They need all the defensive help they can get and he was free.

  • Comment posted by Zippos Circus, at 13:58 6 Aug 2019

    If Palace are gonna rely on Benteke after selling Wan-Bissake and, probably, Wilf, then I'm fearful. We need a goal-scorer. The club are gonna have to spend some of that £115M prize money and the £50M from the Wan if we're gonna stay up.

  • Comment posted by David, at 13:07 6 Aug 2019

    Based on what I saw on Saturday against Hertha Berlin, he is very needed.

    Wan Bissaka badly needs replacing too, as two of their goals came from crosses from the right. The midfield was poor on the day as well.

    Have to find someone to buy Benteke. He is so bad it is not funny. Hop it to China or something please. Ayew looked way more interested in playing at least.

  • Comment posted by Little Mickey H, at 12:22 6 Aug 2019

    Good solid defender. Based on our recent experience with defensive injuries, this will really help.

  • Comment posted by Mr B, at 12:59 6 Aug 2019

    Cahill and Ayew the two main signings this summer. This depresses me and I'm not even a Palace fan.

  • Comment posted by The Citizen, at 12:30 6 Aug 2019

    Good business by Crystal Palace to sign Cahill on a free transfer. A class act and proven international defender.

    Compare that to Man Utd's latest business .. £80,000,000.00 for an old cart horse 😂

  • Comment posted by Mordor Tourism Board, at 12:24 6 Aug 2019

    33 is not over the (Ca)-hill!

  • Comment posted by Nimraynn, at 14:04 6 Aug 2019

    Not a brilliant signing, but not a terrible one either. We certainly need to strengthen our defence. I was at the game against Hertha Berlin on Saturday and that sort of performance seriously worries me for the season.

    That, and we need a STRIKER. Benteke looked like such a stone statue. If he had to run more than a yard, not interested in the slightest. And Ayew wasn't much better....

  • Comment posted by kaisersozay, at 11:47 6 Aug 2019

    Good move for both parties

  • Comment posted by Roy of the Rovers, at 11:46 6 Aug 2019

    So Palace sell their best defender for 50M and bring in an ageing, slow defender to replace him on a freebie, what happened to the 50M?

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