Six more 30+ players Chelsea should sign after Henderson & Welbeck moves | OneFootball

Chelsea have well and truly ripped up their transfer blueprint by shifting their focus to experienced players.

First it was Granit Xhaka that Xabi Alonso wanted to reunite with. He missed out, but now Chelsea have set their eyes on Jordan Henderson, 36, for their midfield instead. And a 35-year-old Danny Welbeck has become a target up front.

This isn’t the usual BlueCo model. Under their current regime, it’s been all about signing young players on long contracts with the hope of making money on them in the future.

It’s fair to say there will be little resale value in a Henderson or a Welbeck, but Chelsea seem to have finally realised that experience counts and that’s what they’ve been lacking.

So, stuff it, here are five more players in their thirties they should be signing. After all, can’t win anything with kids, can you?

Mohamed Salah

Let’s start strong. This one might ruffle some feathers.

It famously didn’t work out for Salah in his previous spell at Chelsea. It overwhelmingly did work out for Salah upon his Premier League return with Liverpool.

Now a free agent after having his Liverpool contract ripped up, Salah’s next step is still to be determined.

Just as he looked to be closing in on a move to Besiktas, the Turkish club have put the deal on hold. Someone else has a golden chance to swoop in.

Salah could well end up in Saudi Arabia, but what if Chelsea ran it back?

Sure, Salah wasn’t great last season. But he was in practically every other season since he left Chelsea.

The prospect of one last dance in the Premier League for Salah would be fascinating, especially if it gave him the chance to right the wrongs of his original spell with Chelsea.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Sticking with the former Chelsea players theme, Loftus-Cheek did manage to put together some decent performances for the club before leaving for AC Milan in 2023.

Who knows what the midfielder might have achieved without the injuries? He definitely had potential.

Per our friends at TEAMtalk, Chelsea considered bringing Loftus-Cheek back in January, the same month he turned 30.

He said no then, but now isn’t part of Milan’s plans anymore. There’s only room for one Ruben at the San Siro, and that’s Amorim, so it seems.

While Chelsea are looking at Henderson now to bolster their midfield, the more spritely Loftus-Cheek might be worth revisiting.

Fraser Forster

Who doesn’t love an ageing backup goalkeeper?

Remarkably, Chelsea’s oldest keeper is 28. The man in question, Robert Sanchez, remains their regular starter, which is pushing 24-year-old Filip Jorgensen towards the exit door.

Chelsea have the 20-year-old Mike Penders to reintegrate, but it’s unusual that they don’t have a seasoned second or third choice. What happened to having a Willy Caballero or a Rob Green?

To fill the void, enter Fraser Forster. Currently at Bournemouth, as a backup to ex-Chelsea prospect Djordje Petrovic, Forster has experience of being a backup for a biggish club from his time at Tottenham.

He’s on Chelsea’s shortlist, if club insider Simon Phillips is to be believed. Now 38, he could become a mentoring figure to their younger keepers as he prepares for the end of his career.

Nicolas Tagliafico

Marc Cucurella’s gone and still hasn’t been properly replaced, so Chelsea need to get their act together at left-back.

Their attempt to sign Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano is dragging on. If they have to abandon that pursuit, it’ll be back to the drawing board.

And since they’re now getting stuck in the past, why not go back in for a player they were linked with six years ago?

In the summer of 2020, Chelsea were in the mix for Nicolas Tagliafico, then at Ajax. Ultimately, they got Ben Chilwell instead and Tagliafico moved to Lyon in 2022.

The Argentina international turns 34 at the end of August, but was still worthy of enough attention to get into Argentina’s World Cup squad.

Tagliafico is now in the final year of his contract with Lyon. He’s started to be linked with Nottingham Forest among a few other options. Can’t lose out to clubs like that, can you, Chelsea?

Ollie Watkins

There have been times when it’s felt like Chelsea are cursed in the striker department.

So many expensive signings haven’t delivered the goods, although there were promising signs from Joao Pedro last season.

Their interest in Welbeck suggests there is room for another striker, but Chelsea could be better off pushing the boat out for Ollie Watkins.

One of the most consistent strikers in the Premier League since his move to Aston Villa in 2020, Watkins has long been linked with taking the next step.

Villa to Chelsea might be a step down at the moment, given one club has Champions League football and the other isn’t in Europe at all. But look at what Morgan Rogers just did.

Could Watkins follow him to Stamford Bridge? It feels unlikely, but Chelsea could even organise a striker swap deal given Villa’s interest in Nicolas Jackson and then everyone’s a winner.

Jonathan Tah

No player has made more appearances for an Alonso side than Jonathan Tah did at Bayer Leverkusen.

His previous interest in Xhaka is proof that Alonso is willing to work again with some of his most trusted players, and Tah ticks that box.

Signing him wouldn’t be easy. Bayern Munich only got him last year, and according to Transfermarkt, he’s the joint-most valuable 30+ centre-back in the world.

But it’s obvious that Chelsea need more experience in defence. They’re about to sign Maxence Lacroix to give them more seniority as a 26-year-old.

Does 26 count as senior? In Chelsea’s current world, it would.

Tah knows what makes Alonso’s tactics tick with his range of passing and reading of the game. Still only 30, he has plenty to offer – but current club Bayern know that all too well.