Chelsea’s interest in signing veteran striker Danny Welbeck would be a welcome sight for some fans who were in attendance last time he played at Stamford Bridge who were forced into boos at the full-time whistle.
Xabi Alonso has taken the club’s need to add experience seriously, seemingly signing off deals to bring in Welbeck and Jordan Henderson after failing in an attempt to bring in Granit Xhaka.
The English striker has scored more goals against Chelsea than any club in the Premier League, adding two to his tally last time he visited West London.
First Danny Welbeck and now Jordan Henderson! What is going on at Chelsea?
Chelsea want to sign Jordan Henderson graphic
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Why Danny Welbeck left Chelsea fans booing in 2025
The Blues went from 1-0 up at half-time to eventually lose 3-1 under Enzo Maresca, with the familiar problem of disciplinary issues coming back to bite them again.
Trevoh Chalobah was sent off, however this time the incident cannot be blamed on him, rather than former midfielder Andrey Santos who had given the ball away under very little pressure.
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion - Premier League
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The Brazilian, who has this summer joined Manchester United for £50m, put the Blues on the back foot, when Welbeck came off the bench to score twice to pile misery on the home side.
At full-time, Maresca’s side were greeted with boos, as they marked a third successive game without victory in the opening outings of the season.
The goals were Welbeck’s sixth and seventh against the Blues, and signing him will put an end to what seems like a guaranteed strike against us every single season.
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Danny Welbeck of Brighton
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Brighton nightmare was beginning of the end for Andrey Santos
Santos had found it difficult to gain the trust of his manager in the first few months of his Chelsea career, and this incident didn’t help his case.
It is very likely this played a part in Maresca’s thinking to use Reece James as a midfield option alongside Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
Manchester United Unveil New Signing Andrey Santos
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This carried on under future managers, and is reportedly in the thinking of Alonso when he is able to welcome the skipper back following his World Cup exploits.
All of this will have been in Santos’ thinking when it came to deciding to leave the club, with Chelsea more than happy to cash in.
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