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Planet Football

·28 July 2026

Planet Football

·28 July 2026

Chelsea have completely torn up their transfer plan by turning their attention towards experienced players.

First it was Granit Xhaka whom Xabi Alonso wanted to bring together with him again. That move did not happen, but now Chelsea have set their sights on Jordan Henderson, 36, for their midfield instead. And a 35-year-old Danny Welbeck has emerged as a target up front.

This is not the usual BlueCo approach. Under the current setup, it has all been about signing young players on long contracts with the hope of making money from them later on.

It is fair to say there will be very little resale value in a Henderson or a Welbeck, but Chelsea seem to have finally understood that experience matters, and that is exactly what they have been missing.

So, forget the rest, here are five more players in their thirties they ought to be signing. After all, you cannot win anything with kids, can you?

Let us begin with a strong one. This one may upset a few people.

It famously did not work out for Salah during his earlier spell at Chelsea. It very much did work out for Salah after he returned to the Premier League with Liverpool.

Now a free agent after Liverpool tore up his contract, Salah’s next move is still undecided.

Just when he appeared to be close to a move to Besiktas, the Turkish club have put the deal on hold. Someone else now has a golden opportunity to step in.

Salah could well end up in Saudi Arabia, but what if Chelsea tried it again?

Of course, Salah was not at his best last season. But he was in practically every other season after he left Chelsea.

The idea of one final Premier League dance for Salah would be fascinating, particularly if it gave him the chance to put right the mistakes of his original Chelsea spell.

Keeping with the former Chelsea players theme, Loftus-Cheek did manage to put together some decent displays for the club before leaving for AC Milan in 2023.

Who knows what the midfielder might have achieved without injuries? He certainly had potential.

As our friends at TEAMtalk report, Chelsea considered bringing Loftus-Cheek back in January, the same month he turned 30.

He said no at the time, but now he is no longer part of Milan’s plans. There is only space for one Ruben at the San Siro, and that is Amorim, it seems.

While Chelsea are now looking at Henderson to strengthen their midfield, the more mobile Loftus-Cheek may be worth another look.

Who does not like an ageing backup goalkeeper?

Remarkably, Chelsea’s oldest keeper is 28. The player in question, Robert Sanchez, is still their first-choice starter, which is nudging 24-year-old Filip Jorgensen towards the exit.

Chelsea have the 20-year-old Mike Penders to bring back into the setup, but it is unusual that they do not have an experienced second or third choice. Whatever happened to having a Willy Caballero or a Rob Green?

To fill that gap, enter Fraser Forster. He is currently at Bournemouth, serving as backup to former Chelsea prospect Djordje Petrovic, and he has experience of being a backup at a fairly big club from his time at Tottenham.

If club insider Simon Phillips is to be believed, he is on Chelsea’s shortlist. Now 38, he could become a mentoring presence for their younger goalkeepers as he moves towards the end of his career.

Marc Cucurella has gone and still has not been properly replaced, so Chelsea need to sort things out at left-back.

Their attempt to sign Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano is dragging on. If they have to walk away from that chase, they will be back to square one.

And since they are now dipping into the past, why not go back in for a player they were linked with six years ago?

In the summer of 2020, Chelsea were in the running for Nicolas Tagliafico, then with Ajax. In the end, they signed Ben Chilwell instead and Tagliafico moved to Lyon in 2022.

The Argentina international turns 34 at the end of August, but was still considered worthy of enough attention to make Argentina’s World Cup squad.

Tagliafico is now in the final year of his contract with Lyon. He has also started to be linked with Nottingham Forest among a few other options. Chelsea cannot afford to miss out to clubs like that, can they?

There have been times when it has felt as though Chelsea are cursed when it comes to strikers.

So many expensive signings have failed to deliver, although there were encouraging signs from Joao Pedro last season.

Their interest in Welbeck suggests there is room for another striker, but Chelsea may be better off going all out for Ollie Watkins.

One of the most reliable strikers in the Premier League since his move to Aston Villa in 2020, Watkins has long been linked with a move to the next level.

Aston Villa to Chelsea may be a step down right now, given one club has Champions League football and the other is not in Europe at all. But just look at what Morgan Rogers has done.

Could Watkins follow him to Stamford Bridge? It feels unlikely, but Chelsea could even arrange a striker swap deal given Villa’s interest in Nicolas Jackson, and then everyone wins.

No player has made more appearances for an Alonso side than Jonathan Tah did at Bayer Leverkusen.

His earlier interest in Xhaka is proof that Alonso is willing to work again with some of his most trusted players, and Tah fits that bill.

Signing him would not be straightforward. Bayern Munich only signed him last year, and according to Transfermarkt, he is the joint-most valuable 30+ centre-back in the world.

But it is clear that Chelsea need more experience in defence. They are about to sign Maxence Lacroix to add more seniority as a 26-year-old.

Does 26 count as senior? In Chelsea’s current world, it would.

Tah understands what makes Alonso’s tactics work, with his passing range and reading of the game. Still only 30, he has plenty to offer — but current club Bayern know that only too well.