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Chelsea close to shock double transfer deal as medical booked
Jul 29 2026 10:50 · By onefootball.com · 6 Reads
Blues clearly changing approach to signings under new boss Xabi Alonso
Standard Sport understands that a deal to take the 35-year-old striker from Premier League rivals Brighton to Stamford Bridge for an undisclosed fee is almost complete.
Welbeck has agreed a two-year contract that will run until the summer of 2028 and is set to undergo a medical this week.
All being well, he is expected to join up with the Chelsea squad when their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia moves on to Hong Kong for a match against Serie A giants Juventus.
It is felt that Welbeck’s experience and leadership qualities will provide a real boost to Chelsea, in addition to his goalscoring ability.
The former England international - who turns 36 in December - scored 14 goals in 40 matches across all competitions for Brighton last season and has previously played with Chelsea frontman Joao Pedro at both Brighton and Watford.
Welbeck will become Chelsea’s third signing of the new Xabi Alonso era, following the club-record £117million agreement for England star Morgan Rogers and £47m deal for Italy right-back Marco Palestra.
A number of other players have also arrived in this window on pre-agreed deals, including striker Emmanuel Emegha, winger Geovany Quenda and exciting Kazakh youngster Dastan Satpayev.
The arrival of Welbeck is expected to be quickly followed by that of Jordan Henderson as Chelsea look to add significant experience to their squad under Alonso.
The Blues have been exploring a move for Henderson, who broke his arm in a freak accident while celebrating England’s memorable World Cup last-16 win over Mexico earlier this month and required surgery in the United States.
The former Liverpool and Sunderland captain, 36, is expected to be able to leave Brentford on a free transfer after making 34 appearances across all competitions for the Bees last season following his exit from Dutch giants Ajax and short-lived spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq.
Chelsea have turned to Henderson after being firmly rebuffed by Sunderland in their pursuit of Granit Xhaka, who previously worked under Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen.
An £8m bid for Xhaka was rejected and Chelsea also saw an offer for Alex Scott worth £64m turned down by Bournemouth last week.