Chelsea transfer news: Blues interested in signing Jordan Henderson, 36, after holding positive talks with 35-year-old Danny Welbeck

Chelsea are interested in signing Jordan Henderson from Brentford.

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

There is a realisation among those clubs that the 36-year-old has impressed at Brentford since returning to the country from Ajax in 2025, and remains part of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.

Brentford have been clear with Henderson since they signed him that they would not stand in his way if big clubs came in.

In that spirit, he could be allowed to leave on a free transfer, however that is not certain to be the case if multiple clubs come in. He has a year left on his Brentford deal.

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

Chelsea were keen on Granit Xhaka at Sunderland earlier this summer but a deal did not materialise.

Positive talks held for Welbeck

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

With a year remaining on his contract, Brighton do not want to stand in the striker’s way as long as they get a fair price for his sale.

Welbeck has continued to be a reliable goalscorer in the Premier League at 35 years old. Last season he scored 13 times, after scoring 10 in the previous campaign.

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

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

It would also place further doubt on the futures of strikers Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, Emmanuel Emegha and Marc Guiu.

Chelsea have signed several players from Brighton in recent seasons including their main striker Joao Pedro, plus Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez.

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

Chelsea showing clear change of strategy

Chelsea moving for Henderson and Welbeck is a clear change in direction in their transfer policy since the BlueCo ownership takeover in 2022.

The last time Chelsea paid a transfer fee for a player over the age of 26 was four years ago – when they signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona.

Since that signing, eight Chelsea managers have come and gone.

And it’s been two years since Chelsea selected a player over the age of 30 in any game.

Thiago Silva, who was 39 at the time, was the last ‘veteran’ Chelsea player back in May 2024.

Remember when Bellingham called Henderson the ‘best person in football’?

Chelsea making a move for Brentford midfielder Henderson may seem peculiar.

But Jude Bellingham gave Henderson the biggest compliment over the summer – saying he’s the “best person I’ve ever come across in football and the biggest leader”.

Speaking when he was on England duty with Henderson at the World Cup, Bellingham said of the Chelsea target: “He’s so funny. He’s the funniest guy at this camp. He gets everyone laughing and everyone together at this camp.

“If there’s ever an issue and you’re thinking, ‘I’m 22 or 23 and there’s an issue I want to address’, he will do it for you.

“If there’s a problem between two people, he will bring them together. He’s the type of person where even the staff will go to him if there’s an issue.

“He’s got no ego when it comes to supporting to the team. He’s a Champions League and Premier League-winning captain. He doesn’t have to be that humble. Everyday in training he’s relentless in wanting to be better and pushing everyone else to be better and drives intensity.

“Some of the lads that didn’t play as many minutes had a game against a local team and you watch him in it, and you think it’s everything for him. I don’t know how you can’t admire that.

“He’s got a line for everything. Every situation. If you need cheering up, he’ll have a perfect line. If there’s banter going around, he’ll say something and have the whole room cracking up.

“But when it comes to the work, if someone’s not quite at it or you’re tired or if there’s something going on, he’ll make sure someone pushes the standard to reach the level that he thinks we should be at. He’s the best person I’ve ever come across in football and the biggest leader as well.”

Meanwhile, Morgan Rogers – who has since moved to Chelsea from Aston Villa in a £117m move – added: “We said this the other day: if people did a blind ranking of people they would want at the camp beforehand, he would be in everyone’s top five.”

BlueCo’s drastic change in transfer policy

Analysis from Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:

Chelsea moving for a Brighton player is not out of the ordinary. However, Chelsea moving for a Brighton player in their mid-30s is.

Following that up with another from that demographic, despite them being currently injured, is a very deliberate ploy.

The BlueCo era has been defined by hoarding some of the best young talent on the planet and developing them in-house. That method has had some successes, but overall, it hasn’t panned out.

There is clearly some recognition and accountability from the top brass about that. In bringing in Xabi Alonso as manager, they know they have lucked out in getting one of the most highly sought-after tacticians in the game. The Spaniard has clearly identified the need for experience and the club are following his lead.

The interest in Xhaka earlier in the summer were among the first signs of the shift. Even making a move for Maxence Lacroix is evidence of a change in approach.

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

The Brighton veteran has 400 appearances and 90 goals on his own. To have that as your back-up to the young guns you want to develop makes sense.

Henderson? That’s a complete 180 degree turn. Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez are two of the more experienced players Alonso has. If you had to pick anywhere Chelsea needed a wise head, you wouldn’t say midfield.

Yet, they wanted Xhaka. They now want Henderson. Alonso may have been the man to oversee the blossoming of players like Florian Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen. However, he clearly sees the values of opposite characters and knows Chelsea, and perhaps more importantly, he needs people ready now.

Chelsea’s key summer business so far

Morgan Rogers – Aston Villa, £117m

Geovany Quenda – Sporting, £43.5m

Marco Palestra – Atalanta, £43m

Denner – Corinthians, £8.7m

Dastan Satpaev – Kairat Almaty, £2.1m

Emmanuel Emegha – Strasbourg, undisclosed

Out

Alejandro Garnacho – Aston Villa, loan

Marc Cucurella – Real Madrid, £51.8m

Andrey Santos – Man Utd, £50m

Tyrique George – Everton, £24m

Jimmy-Jay Morgan – West Brom, £4m