Why Chelsea want to sign older players

BySimon Casson

BBC Sport elder journalist

Chelsea are targeting deals for Maxence Lacroix, Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson - and the ages of the experienced trio look to awesome a large alteration successful transportation tactics from the Blues.

At 26, it could beryllium said that Crystal Palace and France defence Lacroix is successful his prime, but the £52m people is inactive notably older than different caller Blues signings.

It has been 2 years since Chelsea signed a subordinate older than Lacroix, and Tosin Adarabioyo was lone marginally older erstwhile helium arrived 3 months earlier turning 27.

Meanwhile, Brighton striker Welbeck is 35 and keen to determination to Stamford Bridge, and Brentford and England midfielder Henderson is 36.

Welbeck's imaginable accomplishment could mean helium replaces 23-year-old Liam Delap successful the first-team picture.

That is contempt Delap having been considered 1 of the Premier League's astir breathtaking young strikers erstwhile Chelsea signed him from Ipswich Town past year.

So does this awesome a deliberate alteration successful recruitment strategy - prioritising acquisition implicit youth? And what mightiness Chelsea person learned from caller seasons.

In the months that followed the club's takeover 4 years ago, past manager Thomas Tuchel went connected a spending spree.

His archetypal large signing was Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling - aged 27 astatine the clip - for up to £50m including add-ons. After winning 4 Premier League titles astatine City and helping England scope the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, determination was overmuch excitement.

Sterling astatine Chelsea didn't enactment retired though. Despite moments of brilliance, Sterling struggled for signifier and fittingness arsenic the squad went connected to decorativeness 12th successful the 2022-23 season.

For a subordinate reportedly earning implicit £300,000 a week, his performances fell good abbreviated of expectations. Sterling yet near connected a escaped transportation successful January 2026.

Kalidou Koulibaly's accomplishment from Napoli for £33m besides didn't extremity well. Rated astatine the clip arsenic 1 of European nine football's apical centre-backs, the Senegalese subordinate - past 31 - was retired of the doorway aft conscionable 1 season, joining Al-Hilal.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is different experienced subordinate whose clip astatine Stamford Bridge was short-lived. The erstwhile AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal striker signed from Barcelona for £10.3m connected the last time of the summertime transportation model - conscionable days earlier Tuchel's sacking.

Aubameyang - 33 erstwhile helium joined - struggled to find signifier oregon crippled clip nether consequent bosses Graham Potter and Frank Lampard and, similar Sterling, ended up leaving the nine connected a escaped transfer.

After specified a mediocre instrumentality from their investment, it is possibly nary astonishment that determination was a displacement successful recruitment policy, arsenic Chelsea switched their absorption to signing younger players.

Let's commencement present with the occurrence stories.

Chelsea made a large concern successful a World Cup victor successful January 2023 erstwhile they signed Argentina prima Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a then-British grounds interest of £107m. The determination came conscionable 2 weeks aft his 22nd birthday.

Across the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, Fernandez registered an awesome 24 assists successful each competitions - including the Club World Cup - trailing lone Bruno Fernandes and Mohamed Salah among Premier League players.

Chelsea made different nine-figure determination conscionable 7 months aboriginal to motion Moises Caicedo - past 21 - from Brighton.

His £100m terms tag - rising to a imaginable £115m - seemed hard to warrant astatine archetypal arsenic the Ecuadorian had a dilatory commencement astatine Stamford Bridge.

Since then, Caicedo has established himself arsenic 1 of the Premier League's starring midfielders.

Caicedo was the associated person for interceptions successful the Premier League past play (59, the aforesaid fig arsenic James Garner of Everton).

The archetypal £40m the nine paid Manchester City for Cole Palmer - besides 21 astatine the clip successful September 2023 - has besides looked similar wealth good spent.

Palmer was the club's apical scorer successful his archetypal season.

Only Erling Haaland (76), Salah (54) and Ollie Watkins (51) person scored much goals than Palmer, with 47, successful the Premier League since helium joined.

Then determination are the signings that haven't worked out.

Mykhailo Mudryk was 22 erstwhile helium joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk for an archetypal interest of £62m, perchance rising to £89m including add-ons. The Ukraine winger, present 25, has been sidelined for implicit 18 months aft an "adverse uncovering successful a regular urine test" led to a provisional suspension successful December 2024.

The winger has since been served with a four-year prohibition by the Football Association and has lodged an entreaty with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Joao Felix struggled to marque an interaction during 2 stints astatine Chelsea. His archetypal indebtedness spell successful 2023 astatine the property of 23 started with a reddish paper successful his archetypal game.

A imperishable determination followed a twelvemonth aboriginal but helium struggled to warrant the interest - determination successful the portion of £45m - and scored conscionable erstwhile successful 12 Premier League games earlier being sold to Al-Nassr.

After joining from Leicester for astir £70m astatine the property of 21, Wesley Fofana's clip astatine Chelsea has been plagued by injury.

The France international, who was not selected for his country's World Cup squad, could beryllium nether scrutiny arsenic the nine look to trim the size of their squad.

For a nine to person spent arsenic overmuch arsenic Chelsea, it is nary astonishment fans mightiness beryllium frustrated with the returns - oregon deficiency of them.

The 12th-placed Premier League decorativeness successful 2022-23 - the archetypal play since the takeover by the BlueCo consortium - was intelligibly a large disappointment.

Improvements followed, with sixth and 4th successful the adjacent 2 campaigns signalling strides successful the close direction, but finishing 10th past play was different large blow.

Since 2022, Chelsea person won 2 trophies: the Conference League and the Club World Cup.

But for owners with specified large ambitions, they volition surely consciousness similar their expectations haven't yet been met.

If his erstwhile managerial attack is thing to spell by, Xabi Alonso favours a blend of younker and experience.

The Spaniard signed 4 players implicit the property of 27 for the 2023-24 play astatine Bayer Leverkusen. They included Granit Xhaka and Alejandro Grimaldo - 2 cardinal players successful their Bundesliga title-winning side.

Another 4 players implicit the property of 27 came the pursuing season.

It could beryllium a akin communicative present astatine Chelsea.

Owner Behdad Eghbali said Chelsea would "tweak" their exemplary and adhd acquisition to what helium inactive believes is simply a beardown halfway of young players, including Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Levi Colwill.

Welbeck joining Chelsea would beryllium different motion of a displacement successful strategy.

Their determination for him follows attempts to motion 33-year-old midfielder Granit Xhaka from Sunderland, with the Black Cats refusing to merchantability the Switzerland captain.

Although the accomplishment of Rogers, 23, fits the club's preferred argumentation of signing younger players, helium brings important Premier League experience.

The Blues are besides expected to implicit a £52m determination for Lacroix, 26 - further Premier League-ready experience.

It is wide that Welbeck's accomplishment would permission Chelsea with an abundance of attacking options for a play erstwhile they are not progressive successful European contention truthful bash not needfully request specified resources.

At his age, Welbeck whitethorn beryllium contented to supply screen for Joao Pedro, but the determination would correspond atrocious quality for respective different forwards.

Nicolas Jackson is unfastened to leaving, portion Delap and Emmanuel Emegha had hoped to found themselves nether Alonso.

Nevertheless, the Chelsea manager is getting what helium wants: acquisition and beardown personalities to code shortcomings that contributed to the team's 10th-place decorativeness successful the Premier League past season.

Additional reporting by Matt Jones