Kadeisha Buchanan trains with Chelsea for the first time
Chelsea defender Kadeisha Buchanan has trained with her new teammates for the first time following her summer transfer from French giants Lyon.
The Blues announced Buchanan’s arrival on three-year contract back in early June following her departure from Lyon at the end of her contract there.
The centre-back won five Division 1 titles and five Champions League trophies across six seasons in France, winning the last of those just last season – Buchanan was a first half substitute as Lyon reclaimed their European crown with a convincing win over Barcelona in May.
26-year-old Buchanan, who made her Canada debut in 2013 and first shone internationally at the World Cup on home soil in 2015, was on duty with her national team at the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship earlier in the summer but is now available for pre-season after a summer break.
Canada cruised to the tournament’s final after beating Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, Costa Rica and Jamaica without conceding. But a tightly contested showpiece against the United States was decided by an Alex Morgan penalty in the final 15 minutes.
Buchanan was seen training with Chelsea on Monday wearing kit with the number 26 on it. She will be even more of a boost to a defence that only conceded 11 goals in the WSL last season, but it is her experience in the Champions League that is perhaps more important to the Blues, who lost the 2021 final and are determined to be the first English club to win the competition since 2007.
Getting down to business. 💼💪 pic.twitter.com/5I3xaNcNEC
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) August 8, 2022
The Canadian wasn’t the only Chelsea player to begin their pre-season on Monday, with Pernille Harder also back with the group for the first time since representing Denmark at Euro 2022.
A number of Chelsea players, including Magdalena Eriksson, Fran Kirby, Millie Bright and new signing Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, will return to training with the club in due course after going to the latter stages of Euro 2022 last month.
Chelsea will soon head to the United States to take part in the pre-season Women’s International Champions Cup where they will face Lyon on 17 August, an early reunion with her old team for Buchanan, and then either Portland Thorns or Monterrey three days later.
Chelsea’s first WSL game of the new season will see West Ham visit Stamford Bridge.
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