Chelsea are finalising a deal to sign Danny Welbeck from Brighton, with the 35-year-old striker given permission to undergo a medical at Stamford Bridge and expected to sign a two-year contract.

Welbeck is set to join up with his new teammates in Hong Kong next week for pre-season, according to the BBC. The move comes with Chelsea reshaping their squad under new manager Xabi Alonso, who has made adding experience a clear priority after the club fielded the youngest squad in the Premier League for two seasons running.

Chelsea finished 10th last season and won nothing. Co-owner Behdad Eghbali said towards the end of that campaign that the recruitment model needed a "tweak", and the summer's business is carrying that out.

Welbeck brings plenty of it. He has scored 90 goals in 400 Premier League appearances across spells at Manchester United, Arsenal, and Brighton, where he has been the club's all-time top Premier League scorer since joining on a free transfer from Watford in 2021. He also has a habit of tormenting Chelsea himself: five goals and two assists in eight league appearances against them for Brighton.

The Welbeck deal is one thread in a wider recruitment drive. Chelsea have made an offer to Sunderland for midfielder Granit Xhaka, 34, who won the Bundesliga title with Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen in 2024. They are also in talks over Brentford's Jordan Henderson, 36.

Not every signing follows the same template. Chelsea have already completed a club-record £117m move for Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, signed 21-year-old full-back Marco Palestra from Atalanta, and brought in Dutch striker Emmanuel Emegha from sister club Strasbourg. Centre-back Maxence Lacroix, 26, has joined from Crystal Palace on a six-year contract pending an official announcement.

For supporters, the Welbeck arrival raises an immediate question about the forward line. Chelsea have bought a striker in each of the last seven summer transfer windows, and adding Welbeck would give them six senior options in that position. Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, and Marc Guiu are among those who could now leave on a permanent deal or loan.

What makes this transfer window feel different at Stamford Bridge is the direction of travel. For years Chelsea's model has favoured young talent and long contracts. Now Alonso is asking for players who have been through the grind before, and the club is responding. Welbeck may be 35, but he offers exactly what Chelsea have been short of: know-how, a reliable finishing touch, and the kind of presence that settles a dressing room on a difficult away night.

The deal is not yet official. But with a medical scheduled and a two-year contract waiting, Welbeck looks set for one more move across the Premier League's elite landscape, this time in blue.