Chelsea open talks to sign Henderson and Welbeck

Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck have made 863 Premier League appearances between them

>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.

>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.

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>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.

>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.

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