Chelsea players to wear black armbands this afternoon against Southampton in tribute to Christian Atsu

In memory of former Blues winger Christian Atsu, who has been confirmed as one of the numerous victims of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the Chelsea players will be donning black armbands for today’s match against Southampton.

The former Ghana International passed on Saturday, February 18, 2023 after his body was recovered from the rubble of a collapsed building following the earthquake that struck Southern and Central Turkey on Monday, February 6, 2023.

Christian Atsu’s former captain at Chelsea, John Terry, took it to Twitter to pay tribute to the late Ghana footballer, posting an image of Christian Atsu writing: “RIP my friend.”

While Chelsea called his death “enormous sadness”, Newcastle called him: “A talented player and a special person, he will always be fondly remembered by our players, staff and supporters.”

Bournemouth also joined the other two Premier League clubs in paying tribute to the player who spent the first half of the 2015-16 season on loan at. All three clubs will wear commemorative black armbands in their fixtures this week, while Chelsea will hold a minute’s applause before their meeting with Southampton. Newcastle and Liverpool will also hold a minute’s silence before their Saturday clash at Saint James Park.

Atsu joined Chelsea in 2013 but never made an appearance for the Blues. He played for Newcastle United between 2016 and 2021 before joining the Turkish club Hatayspor in 2022.