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.

TURIN, ITALY - MAY 21: Kadeisha Buchanan of Olympique Lyonnais celebrates with a Canada flag after victory in the UEFA Women's Champions League final match between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium on May 21, 2022 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Who is Kadeisha 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.

SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN - AUGUST 30: Kadeisha Buchanan of Olympique Lyon celebrates with the UEFA Women's Champions League Trophy following her team's victory in the UEFA Women's Champions League Final between VfL Wolfsburg Women's and Olympique Lyonnais at Estadio Anoeta on August 30, 2020 in San Sebastian, Spain. (Photo by Villar Lopez/Pool via Getty Images)

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 herself as one of Canada's key players, which shows in her three Canadian Player of the Year awards.

At 26 years old, the defender is already a centurion for her national team and has appeared on both the World Cup and Olympic stage.

After earning bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio, the Canadians made history in Tokyo after beating Sweden in a thrilling penalty shootout to claim their first ever Olympic gold.

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - AUGUST 06: Vanessa Gilles #14, Ashley Lawrence #10 and Kadeisha Buchanan #3 of Team Canada celebrate following their team's victory in the penalty shoot out in the Women's Gold Medal Match between Canada and Sweden on day fourteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at International Stadium Yokohama on August 06, 2021 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

"I have no doubt we are signing a world-class player who has proven herself on the world stage," Hayes said of her newest signing.

"She is going to bring a quality to our group and with her brilliant personality and character, we think she will be really liked within the dressing room. We look forward to welcoming Kadeisha this summer."

Buchanan joins fellow defender Ève Perisset as two new Chelsea additions to sign for the club this week.