Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson could bring much-needed experience to a youthful Chelsea side for the upcoming season.
Following a campaign in which the Blues finished outside the European spots in tenth place, new boss Xabi Alonso was tasked with a major revamp of his squad.
The west London outfit have been one of the Premier League’s busiest sides this window – scouring Europe for some of the best young talent on offer.
Morgan Rogers was snapped up from Aston Villa in a £117million deal – becoming the most expensive British player in history.
Chelsea also forked out £47m on right-back Marco Palestra from Serie A side Atalanta.
Meanwhile, teenage winger Geovany Quenda has officially linked up in a £42m transfer – one year after the move was agreed with Sporting Lisbon.
And striker Emmanuel Emegha has finally arrived from sister club Strasbourg for around £21m having thrashed out an agreement in September.
Those four players will soon be joined by Maxence Lacroix, with the Crystal Palace centre-back closing in on a £55m switch.
Chelsea Pensioners
With BlueCo making it their mission to bring in highly-rated youngsters since their £4.25bn takeover in 2022, they are set to completely go against their model.
On Monday, it was reported how Chelsea are poised to bring in striker Welbeck from Brighton and midfielder Henderson from Brentford.
With a combined age of 71, the two veteran England internationals are unlikely to challenge for a regular starting spot.
Instead, they will likely be utilised as adept back-ups while providing support for their younger teammates – both off and on the pitch.
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Chelsea fielded the youngest average age [23.4] of any Premier League side in single match in the 2025/26 season.
In fact, Chelsea put out nine of the youngest 12 line-ups in the top-flight and 13 of the youngest 18.
Blues content creator Alex Harris gave his seal of approval on the potential signings when commenting on Welbeck and Henderson to talkSPORT.
He said: “Look, these guys are not going to be starters for us, they’re going to be players that come in, try and help the younger guys, and they’ll fill in every now and then, one of our issues is we have no experience.”
Before adding: “This is major for us and it is extreme, but we’ve been extreme in terms of not signing players with any experience.
“So why do I not mind Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck? Because I don’t mind either of them, to be honest with you.
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“Because number one, I know they’re not going to play every week, number two, they’re winners, they’ve been part of winning sides and that’s what we need.
“We need people who know how to win, we need people who are going to be someone for the younger players to speak to and go, ‘Well, how did you deal with this and that?'”
With a raft of incomings already confirmed at Stamford Bridge and more on the way, here talkSPORT.com takes a look at two ways Chelsea could start under Alonso.
How could Chelsea start under Alonso?
Keeping his place between the sticks will likely be Robert Sanchez, who has made 90 outings for the club across the last two years.
Skipper Reece James will continue to deputise at right-back, with Jorell Hato to potentially slot in on the other side of defence following Marc Cucurella’s £51.8m move to Real Madrid.
And Lacroix is expected to come into the heart of defence to partner Cobham academy Levi Colwill.
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Should Enzo Fernandez remain at Chelsea amid uncertainty over his future, he would play next to Moises Caicedo in central midfield.
Cole Palmer could then be used in a No.10 role, allowing Brazilian sensation Estevao to feature on the right wing, with Rogers to be deployed on the left flank.
And Joao Pedro would surely lead the line ahead of Welbeck after finishing at Chelsea’s top scorer with 20 goals last campaign.
The duo are poised to be teammates for a third time having played together at Watford and Brighton.
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Chelsea alternative XI
Should Alonso decide to ring the changes, he could elect to start five summer recruits.
Two changes could be made in defence from his likely preferred line-up with a reshuffle in the full-back positions.
James could be replaced by Palestra, while natural right-back Malo Gusto could come in at left-back instead of Hato, having played there three times in the previous campaign.
Henderson could then come in for Fernandez in midfield, with Rogers to move from the left wing into the No.10 role, with Alonso hailing his versatility at a recent press conference.
Commenting on the 23-year-old, he said: “One of his best qualities is that he is flexible.
“He plays in that pocket position, close to the striker, close to our No.10 – but he has also played on the right side even though he is more used to coming from the left.”
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Palmer could then slot in on the right, with Pedro Neto to come in on the left wing.
And Welbeck may on occasion be favoured ahead of Pedro up top, with the 35-year-old coming off the back of the best goalscoring season of his career.
Welbeck fired in 14 goals in all competitions, with 13 strikes coming in the Premier League – the second term in a row he achieved double digits.
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