Danny Welbeck has been confirmed to sign for Chelsea until June 2028, but why does Chelsea need to sign a player who is in their thirties? The lack of leaders in the Chelsea dressing room has led the team into turmoil, and Xabi Alonso wants to change this.
Losing Cucurella to Real Madrid shows that Chelsea has lost leadership in the dressing room; Reece James is not fit half of the time to lead the team. This is the reason why Alonso wants Welbeck and Jordan Henderson in the team.
Although this is meant to be a short-term solution, having these players and not playing them is madness, as they are paying a lot of money to have players who are just going to be in the dressing room and give pep talk sounds bizarre. Welbeck will want to play, as he was Brighton’s top goalscorer last season, and Henderson has broken his wrist and probably won’t be available until November.
It is reported that Welbeck’s weekly wage is £93,000 and Henderson will have the same pay structure as Welbeck. In the grand scheme of things, it is not a lot of money for Chelsea, but if both players don’t play, could it upset them, or do they know their role as leaders? We will never know until the season kicks off.
Welbeck is a good signing for experience, as he has won the league with Manchester United, and Henderson has won both the Champions League and Premier League for Liverpool. Both players have the winning the DNA, and if Alonso wants to be successful, maybe he needs these players to be around the youth and inexperienced players at Chelsea.