We absolutely, positively cannot have a transfer window without getting Brighton & Hove Albion involved, so to fulfill that annual BlueCo quota, we’ve got our eyes on Danny Welbeck. According to reports, including (first) the Mail and The Athletic, Chelsea are “exploring a move” for the 35-year-old veteran striker, who’s got just one year left on his current contract.
Welbeck is said to appeal to Xabi Alonso as both “a player and a leader” and though the situation is at an “early stage”, there is “optimism
on all sides that a deal could be done”. We certainly do need some leaders in this team, so that’s good, but adding Welbeck to an already crowded room of strikers would mean that at least one of Liam Delap, Nicolas Jackson, or Emmanuel Emegha would have to leave — at least on loan. The BBC put all three players’ futures in doubt, with Aston Villa possibly eyeing Jackson, Delap “increasingly expected” to leave, and “uncertainty surrounding” even Emegha’s future. (And Marc Guiu’s already in the Bomb Squad.)
It’s not often that you see a striker set a career high in goals scored in his 17th season as a senior professional, but that’s precisely what Welbeck did last year with 14. The striker’s third act in the Premier League, after not really making an impact at Manchester United and Arsenal earlier in his career, has been nice to see from a neutral’s perspective — except of course when seemingly half his goals have come against Chelsea. (He’s only scored more against West Ham and Manchester United in his career, but he does have six goals and two assists in his last seven league games against us!)
For the right price, which shouldn’t be a lot (emphasis on “shouldn’t”), I don’t mind this. I’m not sure it’s the best plan overall, but having just Delap and Emegha as backups is far from ideal (and Jackson’s a bit of a wild card, both on the pitch and in terms of his future).
