Chelsea are exploring a move to sign Danny Welbeck from Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 35-year-old striker has 12 months left on his contract and Brighton are aware of the interest.
As a player and a leader, Welbeck appeals to Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso and — although the situation remains at an early stage — there is optimism on all sides that a deal could be done.
Welbeck played in all but one of Brighton’s 38 Premier League games last season, scoring 13 goals — the best league return of his career. He has scored 51 goals in 201 matches for Brighton since joining from Watford in 2020.
After recruiting mainly players under the age of 25 in the last few seasons, Chelsea have been seeking players they deem to be more Premier League ready. They attempted a move for Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka, 33, earlier in the window and have shown interest in free agent John Stones, 32.
The Athletic reported at the end of the 2025 summer transfer window that Manchester United explored a move to bring Welbeck back to Old Trafford, having previously been interested in their former player a year earlier when Erik ten Hag was in charge.
Welbeck began his career at United, scoring 29 times in 142 appearances before leaving for Arsenal in 2014. In north London, he registered 32 goals in 126 games across six seasons, then spending one year at Watford before his move to Brighton.
Why Chelsea are looking at Welbeck
Analysis by Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson
This is a deal that will cause the biggest stir among Chelsea fans and certainly raise further question marks about the futures of other strikers in the squad.
Chelsea were already deciding on which strikers to keep, sell or loan between Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap and even Emmanuel Emegha, who has just joined up from Strasbourg after an agreement was put in place last September. Welbeck’s arrival would surely mean it would be even more likely that more than one will be going elsewhere. Marc Guiu, meanwhile, is expected to depart either on loan or permanently.
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By pursuing midfielder Xhaka and defender Stones, Chelsea have already shown they want a Premier League veteran with leadership qualities in the ranks. But looking to acquire a 35-year-old striker is quite a move.
It further emphasises how, under new manager Alonso, Chelsea are prepared to change their way of doing things in recent years, which has been predominantly purchasing top young talent with potential.
Welbeck has arguably been in the best form of his career in recent years at Brighton. He knows what it takes to play at a ‘big six’ club, having also been at Manchester United and Arsenal in his career.
Chelsea will also no longer have to worry about the threat he provides when he is up against them. He has an impressive record of seven goals and two assists in 19 Premier League games. Perhaps it is a case of if you can’t stop them, sign them.
The club’s supporters will inevitably talk about how this is another deal with Brighton under the current ownership, though. Since 2022, Chelsea have bought Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro, plus Facundo Buonanotte on loan, from Brighton. Academy youngsters Shumaira Mheuka and Zak Sturge came from the Amex Stadium, too.
What does Welbeck offer?
Analysis by data and tactics writer Anantaajith Raghuraman
At this point in his career, Welbeck is a penalty box expert. Among players to have attempted 30 or more shots in the Premier League last season, only four had a better shot-to-goal conversion rate than his 23 per cent, while only six got a higher share of their shots on target than his 50 per cent.
Welbeck is capable of keeping defenders on their toes in different ways with his off-the-ball runs, while also serving as a shooting threat from outside the box.
His link-up play is effective and he has thrived when involved in quick pass-and-move sequences at Brighton. This was especially true when he played ahead of Joao Pedro, who he would reunite with should he move to Chelsea. Welbeck would also be able to create space for Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer to wreak havoc.
While he is in great shape and is energetic out of possession, whether he can lead a press for 90 minutes is a question mark.
Fabian Hurzeler praised Welbeck’s leadership last season, saying after Brighton’s 2-1 win over Liverpool in March: “He’s not only so valuable for us as a goal scorer but also as a leader on and off the pitch.” Both of those would be welcome for a young Chelsea squad that could do with a goalscoring threat off the bench.
