Chelsea are closing in on signing Brighton striker Danny Welbeck, who has been allowed to have a medical at Stamford Bridge as talks reach an advanced stage [1]. The 35-year-old forward is expected to join Chelsea on a two-year contract and link up with the squad next week in Hong Kong for pre-season training [1].
Welbeck has a contract with Brighton running until the end of the 2026-27 season after signing a 12-month extension in March 2026 [2, 3]. Last season, he scored 13 league goals in 37 appearances and has over 400 top-flight matches with 90 career goals, making him one of the more experienced forwards available [2, 1, 3].
Chelsea’s new manager Xabi Alonso is aiming to add experienced players to a squad that has been relatively young over the past two seasons. Alonso said, "But for sure, we need proper balance in terms of qualities, in terms of positions, in terms of balance. We want to have a complete squad and we want to make a good team" [4]. Welbeck’s arrival fits with the club’s recent acknowledgment by co-owner Behdad Eghbali that the recruitment model needed a "tweak" to bring in more seasoned players alongside promising youngsters [2, 1].
In addition to Welbeck, Chelsea have recently signed Morgan Rogers for a club-record £117 million, full-back Marco Palestra, and are close to securing centre-back Maxence Lacroix [2, 1, 4]. The club is also linked with Brentford midfielder Jordan Henderson, 36, as part of its efforts to bolster experience across the squad [1, 4].
Chelsea currently have several forwards whose futures remain unclear, such as Liam Delap, Nicolas Jackson, and Marc Guiu, with speculation some may depart on loan or permanently [2, 1, 3]. Welbeck’s arrival would mean Chelsea have around six senior strikers, set to build their attack around Joao Pedro, who scored 15 league goals last season, and Welbeck [1, 3].
Welbeck is expected to join Chelsea’s pre-season training camp in Hong Kong between August 19 and 25 as the transfer nears completion [1].
