Chelsea have continued their summer squad reshaping under Xabi Alonso by signing England international midfielder Jordan Henderson on a free transfer. The 36-year-old has signed a two-year deal with the Blues.
Henderson left Brentford earlier this summer after the two parties agreed mutually to cancel his deal.
Henderson adds experience to the Blues squad
The signing of the midfielder follows Chelsea’s signing of striker Danny Welbeck from Brighton. It seems that Blues head coach Xabi Alonso is looking to add experience to what has been a young squad in recent seasons.
Henderson will certainly add that to the Chelsea squad, as the midfielder has made nearly 700 professional appearances for various clubs, including 492 for Liverpool from 2011 until 2023.
Despite his advancing years, the midfielder made 34 appearances for Brentford across all competitions, illustrating that he is still able to compete at the highest level and demonstrating his professionalism and fitness.
Apart from his experience and professionalism, Henderson is renowned for the leadership he brings to teams. It could be argued that it’s been missing from the Blues squad.
Chelsea looking to do things differently
Since Chelsea’s current owners have come in, they have concentrated their recruitment on younger players, who will have sell-on values in years to come.
They haven’t completely switched to signing more experienced players, as the signing of Argentinian international Valentin Barco from Strasbourg has proven, but they have also brought in those older heads.
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This may have been the recruitment team’s decision, as they looked to do things differently, or Alonso may have influenced it.
Considering that the Spaniard had a good mix of youth and experience in his successful Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga-winning team, it may be that the Blues hierarchy are allowing the former Real Madrid boss to have a major influence on recruitment this summer.