Chelsea transfer news: Blues keen to sign Jordan Henderson, 36, after positive talks with Danny Welbeck, 35 | football news

Chelsea are interested in signing Jordan Henderson from Brentford.

They are one of several major Premier League clubs looking to add his experience and quality to their ranks.

There is an understanding among these clubs that the 36-year-old has impressed at Brentford and England since returning home from Ajax in 2025.

Brentford have been clear with Henderson since they signed him that they will not stand in his way when bigger clubs come.

In that spirit, he could be allowed a free transfer, but that’s not guaranteed if multiple clubs enter. He has one year left on his Brentford contract.

Henderson has the character, leadership qualities and experience Chelsea are adding to their squad this summer.

Chelsea were interested in Granit Xhaka But a deal did not materialize at Sunderland earlier this summer.

There has been positive talk for Welbeck

Chelsea have held positive initial talks with Brighton over a deal for Danny Welbeck.

With one year remaining on his contract, Brighton do not want to stand in the way of the striker until they get a fair price for his sale.

Welbeck continues to be a reliable goalscorer in the Premier League at the age of 35. He scored 13 times last season, after scoring 10 in the previous campaign.

His potential arrival would be another example of Chelsea prioritizing physically imposing players with Premier League experience this summer.

They have already signed Morgan Rodgers from Aston Villa for £117m – a record fee for a British player – and close to fetching Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.

This will cast further doubt over the futures of strikers Nicholas Jackson, Liam Delap and Marc Guieu.

Chelsea have signed a number of players from Brighton in recent seasons, including their main striker Joao Pedro, Moises Caesdo, Mark Cucurella and Robert Sanchez.

Several members of Brighton’s staff have also moved to Stamford Bridge over the past four years, including sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Sam Jewell.

BlueCo’s massive change in transfer policy

Analysis from Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:

A move to Chelsea is not uncommon for a Brighton player. However, Chelsea are pushing for the Brighton player in his mid-30s.

Following it up with another person in that demographic, despite their current injuries, is a very deliberate ploy.

The BlueCo era is defined by gathering some of the best young talent on the planet and developing them in-house. This approach has had some success, but overall, it hasn’t panned out.

There is clearly some recognition and accountability from the top on this. In bringing in Xabi Alonso as manager, they know they’ve been lucky to land one of the game’s most sought-after tacticians. The Spaniard has clearly identified the need for experience and the club are following his lead.

Interest in Xhaka was among the first signs of change at the start of the summer. Even a move for Maxence Lacroix is ​​evidence of a change in approach.

The Welbeck move is surprising, but there are some arguments that can be applied to it. Is he going to start every week? no However, the average age of Chelsea’s four senior strikers is just 23. Together they have made 269 Premier League appearances and scored 74 goals.

The Brighton veteran has 400 appearances and 90 goals of his own. It makes sense to have it as a back-up for the young guns you want to develop.

Henderson? This is a complete 180 degree turn. Two of Alonso’s more experienced players are Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez. If you need an intelligent head of Chelsea where you have to pick, you do not have to say midfield.

Still, they wanted Xhaka. They want Henderson now. Alonso may have overseen the blossoming of players like Florian Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen. However, he clearly sees the opposite character values ​​and knows Chelsea and, perhaps more importantly, he needs people ready now.

Chelsea’s key summer business so far

in

Morgan Rogers – Aston Villa, £117 million

Giovanni Cuenda – Sporting, £43.5m

Marco Palestra – Atlanta, £43m

Denner – Corinthians, £8.7m

Dastan Satpaev – Kairat Almaty, £2.1m

Emmanuel Emegha – Strasbourg, Unpublished

out

Alejandro Garnacho – Aston Villa, loan

Mark Kukrella – Real Madrid, £51.8 million

Andre Santos – Man Utd, £50m

Tyreek George – Everton, £24m

Jimmy-J Morgan – West Brom, £4m