Chelsea open talks to sign Henderson and Welbeck

Chelsea are in talks to sign Brentford's Jordan Henderson and Brighton's Danny Welbeck.

England midfielder Henderson, 36, has a year left on his Brentford contract but the Bees are willing to let him leave on a free transfer.

Ex-England striker Welbeck, 35, is keen on moving to Stamford Bridge and there is optimism from Chelsea's side that a deal can be concluded.

The Blues are looking for experience because of an acceptance that their model of signing young players needs a "tweak" - according to influential owner Behdad Eghbali in April.

Welbeck scored a career-high 13 league goals in 37 games for Brighton last season, taking his tally to 51 goals in 201 matches since joining from Watford in 2020.

Brighton have declined to comment.

Welbeck signed a 12-month contract extension in March, with his current deal running until the end of the 2026-27 season.

Henderson made 34 appearances in all competitions for Brentford last season after joining from Ajax.

He made one substitute appearance for England at the World Cup before breaking his arm falling over advertising hoardings while celebrating their last-16 win over Mexico.

There are questions over the futures of several Chelsea forwards, with Joao Pedro regarded as the club's first-choice option.

Chelsea also have Liam Delap, Emmanuel Emegha, Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson on their books.

Guiu is understood to be available for a permanent transfer or a loan move, with Chelsea valuing him at about £25m.

Jackson, who has returned from a loan spell at Bayern Munich, was expected to remain at Stamford Bridge but is open to leaving amid interest from Aston Villa.

Delap was keen to establish himself under new manager Xabi Alonso, just a year after a £30m move from Ipswich, but he is increasingly expected to depart.

There is also uncertainty surrounding the future of Dutch striker Emegha, despite having only recently joined Chelsea from Strasbourg, a club within the same ownership group.

Chelsea have signed attacker Morgan Rogers for a club record £117m, full-back Marco Palestra and are closing in on a move for centre-back Maxence Lacroix this summer.

Welbeck and Henderson joining Chelsea would be another sign of a shift in strategy this summer.

Their move for the duo follows attempts to sign 33-year-old midfielder Granit Xhaka from Sunderland, with the Black Cats refusing to sell the Switzerland captain.

Although the arrival of Rogers, 23, fits the club's preferred policy of signing younger players, he brings significant Premier League experience.

The Blues are also expected to complete a £52m move for Crystal Palace defender Lacroix, 26, to add further Premier League-ready experience.

However, Welbeck's arrival would leave Chelsea with an abundance of attacking options despite not being involved in European competition.

At his age, Welbeck may be content to provide cover for Joao Pedro, but the move would represent bad news for several other forwards.

Jackson is open to leaving, while Delap and Emegha had hoped to establish themselves under Alonso.

Nevertheless, the Chelsea manager is getting what he wants: experience and strong personalities to address shortcomings that contributed to the team's 10th-place finish in the Premier League last season.

By

Chief football news reporter

It says everything about Welbeck that senior figures at Brighton were convinced England should have taken the veteran striker to the World Cup as a back-up.

Forget about his age. Welbeck featured in 37 out of Brighton's 38 Premier League games last season. His 13 goals put him joint-ninth in the list of top scorers, with only three Englishmen bettering that tally.

Those statistics show him to still be a top forward.

Then there is his overall game - his ability to hold the ball up, bring team-mates into play or buy his defence some valuable time.

Finally, there is Welbeck's presence behind the scenes. He is someone who drives standards, makes demands of team-mates; someone for younger players - of which Chelsea have plenty - to learn from.

Manchester United tried to bring him back to Old Trafford in the past but it did not quite work out. Welbeck is the kind of forward they need now.

But it is Chelsea who have acted first. One of the most surprising deals of the summer could turn out to be one of the most astute.