Chelsea are close to completing the signing of Brighton and Hove Albion striker Danny Welbeck following his approval for a medical at Stamford Bridge, Yankee Scores reports.
Welbeck, aged 35, will soon join his new club in Hong Kong for pre-season training ahead of signing a two-year deal with Chelsea.
Welbeck and Alonso’s Search for Experience
This is in line with new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso’s recruitment policy to bring in experienced players as his club has been the youngest in the Premier League in the last two campaigns.
In the last few years, the recruitment policy has been criticized as the reason why the Blues have failed to compete for any silverware.
At the end of last season, in which they ended 10th in the table and won nothing, one of Chelsea co-owners, Behdad Eghbali, said that the recruitment strategy of the club needs to be “tweaked.”
In the meantime, Chelsea have made an offer to reunite Granit Xhaka, 34, who helped win the Bundesliga title with Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen in 2024, with their former midfield maestro as he currently plays for Sunderland, per BBC Sport.
Defensive & Squad Additions
The Blues have also signed 26-year-old centre-back Maxence Lacroix on a six-year deal from Crystal Palace, subject to an official announcement, but they are still negotiating terms with Jordan Henderson, 36, who plays for Brentford.
Morgan Rogers, who cost the Blues a club record fee of £117 million from Aston Villa earlier this month, is also experienced for his age of 24.
Additionally, Chelsea have signed full-back Marco Palestra from Atalanta and he is only 21 years old.
Welbeck, who has played for Manchester United and Arsenal, has scored 90 times in 400 Premier League games and is the all-time top scorer of Brighton and Hove Albion, having joined them as a free agent from Watford in 2021.
The signing of Welbeck means that Chelsea would have six senior strikers as they try to develop their attack around Joao Pedro and Welbeck with some players being ready for loan or sale.
Some of the attacking options who could leave on a permanent or loan basis include Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap and Marc Guiu.
Additionally, Chelsea have also signed Dutch striker Emmanuel Emegha from sister club Strasbourg this summer and he might stay at the club.
