It took Danny Welbeck 50 minutes to find the back of the net on his debut as a Chelsea player. With the Stamford Bridge side in need of a breakthrough in the EFL Cup tie against Luton Town, the 35-year-old was the player who stood up and scored to send the Blues on their way to the next round.
Welbeck’s signing wasn’t the most notable transfer made by Chelsea this summer. Xabi Alonso’s side spent big to bring in the likes of Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix and Marco Palestra while Welbeck cost a fee of only $8m. This reflected his veteran age. At 35, he is a short-term solution.
As Thursday’s performance demonstrated, Welbeck has plenty to offer Alonso. The former Arsenal, Brighton and Manchester United striker might be Chelsea’s best penalty box operator. He has the sort of poaching instincts that Alonso needs for his team to enjoy a successful season.
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On top of this, Welbeck is extremely intelligent with his movement. He brings others into the game with his final third movement and so Chelsea’s wide forwards and attacking midfielders might come to appreciate playing with Welbeck over the course of the 2026/27 season.
“I bring the average age a little bit higher,” said Welbeck when asked what he brings to Chelsea as a new face at Stamford Bridge. “The experience of playing games, being in good and bad dressing rooms and knowing what it takes to achieve something special and push the group in the right way.”
This summer has been a transformational one for Chelsea. Alonso has been hired as the Blues’ new manager in the belief that his failure at Real Madrid was more on Real Madrid than Alonso. Chelsea is attempting to copy the blueprint Alonso used to win the Bundesliga title during his time at Bayer Leverkusen.
Rogers has been signed to be one of Chelsea’s two dual number 10s with Lacroix targeted specifically to operate as one third of the new back three. Welbeck, however, could be one of Chelsea’s most important signings. Alonso requires depth to keep his new team competitive over the full campaign and Welbeck will help in that regard.
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Over the course of his career, Welbeck has been underrated. He has scored 90 goals in the Premier League and will surely add to his tally as a Chelsea player. Those goals could be especially valuable as the Stamford Bridge aims to make amends for the disappointment of last season.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
