Welbeck Set for Chelsea Medical as Blues Break Over-26 Fee Policy

If you're keeping score, Welbeck will be Chelsea's first recruit north of 26 since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang limped in from Barcelona back in 2022. So much for 'buying young'. Manager Xabi Alonso, apparently, has now decided what his squad desperately needs is 'proven Premier League experience'. Right. At 35, that's what they're after.

Credit where it's due: Welbeck, at 35, actually notched his best league return last season, banging in 13 goals. He hit 10 the year before that. He's got a year left on his Amex contract, which means Chelsea are shelling out for a bit-part player. 'Seasoned depth' for their collection of youngsters, they'll call it. I call it scrambling.

And this, apparently, 'aligns' with Chelsea's grand summer strategy. Sure. They've already dropped a British transfer record £117m on Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa. And now they're 'close' to sealing Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix. Money, clearly, is no object. Direction? That's another story.

Forget the 'youth project' for a moment. Welbeck clocks 400 Premier League appearances, 90 goals. That's a serious number. Now, look at Chelsea's *four* senior strikers: an average age of 23, a measly 269 league appearances between them, and a combined 74 goals. Pathetic, really. They're finally admitting the kids aren't quite alright.

This move obviously throws the future of Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, and Marc Guiu into serious question. Not that anyone's losing sleep over it. Chelsea's love affair with Brighton's talent pool continues, too. Joao Pedro, Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez – they've all made the pilgrimage in recent seasons. It's fair to ask how many of those deals have actually delivered value.