Chelsea: New signing Kadeisha Buchanan to wear John Terry shirt number

Chelsea have announced the signing of centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan on a three-year deal from Lyon.

The influential Canadian will join the London outfit next month and it seems her pedigree has already earned her huge respect within her new club.

Buchanan will become the first player, male or female, to wear the iconic No.26 shirt since Blues legend John Terry.

Shirt numbers hold a lot of honour in their long lines of history.

Since Terry’s departure from Chelsea in 2017, the No.26 jersey has been vacant. The former England international took over the number from Laurent Charvet, who had a brief loan spell with Chelsea back in 1998.

Terry spent almost his entire career with the Blues and went on to make a total of 717 appearances across all competitions throughout his tenure.

To pass such an iconic number on to a fellow centre-back shows the faith the club has in Buchanan.

Chelsea Women’s newest signing has been described by Emma Hayes as a “serial winner” who will help bring a new quality to this already talented side.

Buchanan is experienced on both the domestic and international stage. After establishing herself in her native Canada, the defender was snapped up by European giants Lyon in 2017.

In her five-and-a-half years with Lyon, the 26-year-old won 13 major honours, including five Champions League trophies and five Division 1 Féminine titles, as well as the Coupe de France on three occasions.

Buchanan quickly became a crucial part of the Lyon team and notched a total of 130 appearances during her time in France.

At international level, the centre-back is highly admired.

She was recruited into Canada’s youth programme when she was just 14 and made her senior debut three years later.

Buchanan established