[_BBC Sport_](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cx2d79ddvg4o) reports both moves fit a pattern Chelsea owner Behdad Eghbali flagged back in April, when he acknowledged the club's strategy of signing almost exclusively young players needed a "tweak."
That rethink gathered pace after Xabi Alonso's attempt to reunite with former Bayer Leverkusen captain Granit Xhaka fell through, with Sunderland refusing to sell. Henderson and Welbeck, at 36 and 35 respectively, represent the clearest evidence yet of the shift, and would sit well outside the age profile of Chelsea's other recent signings.
Welbeck's numbers make the case for him. His 13 league goals last season were a career high in England's top flight and helped push his overall tally for Brighton to 51 in 201 appearances since arriving from Watford in 2020 — form good enough that he had a 12-month extension triggered in March, tying him to the Amex until the end of 2026-27.
Brighton have declined to comment on Chelsea's approach, but with talks continuing club-to-club, there is real optimism inside Stamford Bridge that a deal gets done.
Henderson's situation is more straightforward: a year remains on his Brentford contract, yet the Bees are prepared to sanction a free departure rather than stand in his way. He made 34 appearances across all competitions for the west London club last season following his return from Ajax, and was included in England's World Cup squad, though a broken arm — sustained falling over advertising hoardings while celebrating the last-16 win over Mexico — restricted him to a single substitute appearance at the tournament.
Neither deal is finished business, and Chelsea's transfer activity has not slowed elsewhere: the club remain in the mix for free-agent centre-back John Stones, even as Inter Milan are believed to hold the advantage in that race.
Taken together, the interest in Henderson and Welbeck points to a squad Alonso wants built around more than potential alone, adding ballast to a group already reshaped this summer by younger arrivals such as Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacroix.