Having seen their quality and experience first hand, Chelsea legend Gary Cahill believes his former England team-mates Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck will be excellent additions to the Blues squad.
Henderson and Welbeck have both been added to the Chelsea ranks this summer, strengthening Xabi Alonso’s squad as well as bringing valuable experience gained over their long and successful careers.
Former Blues captain Cahill had a front-row seat to much of those careers as an opponent in the Premier League. The trio also played together as part of the England squad at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups.
That makes the defender well placed to judge what the duo will bring to Chelsea.
‘They are top lads and ultra professional,’ said Cahill. ‘They get the best out of themselves which is why they are still going strong at the age they are.
‘I think they will bring their quality and experience. That experience will show through on the pitch, in certain moments in games, or at the training ground and in training sessions. They’ve been there and done it at the top level for years.
‘So for young players in the squad: watch them, see how they work and train, the mentality they have and learn from them. That is what I did when I was a young player and it only helped.’
Cahill made his first international start on the day that Welbeck was handed his Three Lions debut, in a friendly against Ghana in November 2011, and he has seen the striker use his experience to adapt his game in the years since.
‘Danny is quite calm, laid back, but is very professional and leads by example. He is getting longevity out of his career and that is not by accident, it’s because of the way he has looked after himself over the years.
‘He’s adapted his game as well, in terms of the runs he makes and picking his movements, which comes with experience and from learning from different scenarios.
‘In terms of his personality, he is quite calm and laid back, and would lead by example.’
When he considers Henderson's key attributes, it is the midfielder's leadership and work ethic which stands out to Cahill.
‘Hendo is ultra professional – he does everything at 110 per cent and expects everyone around him to do the same. I was always impressed when I was around him in England squads.
‘He is very vocal in the dressing room and once he’s on the training pitch, he has that mentality of giving everything in every session and making sure others are giving that too. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s exactly what you should be doing.
‘He is someone who drives standards every day. If the standards dip a little in training, he will jump on that and push it back up again. That is so important to have, no matter if it’s Hendo, Danny or the other lads in the squad, it’s massive having that mentality in the squad.’
Perhaps most importantly, Cahill is convinced Henderson and Welbeck will bring a winning mentality to the squad, something he believes was key to the success enjoyed by Chelsea during his own time playing at Stamford Bridge.
‘I say it all the time, ability is one thing and mentality is another,’ added the former centre-back. ‘If you don’t have both in your dressing room, you will struggle to be successful. If you have both, you will have success.
‘That is why the standards were so high when I came to the club, around the training round and around the building. You treat everyone with respect and then when you go out to training, you give everything you’ve got each day.’