Chelsea have confirmed their signing of Jordan Henderson on a free transfer, after Brentford allowed the 36-year-old to terminate his contract a year earlier than expected.

It comes two days after they secured the signature of Danny Welbeck, 35, from Brighton.

Between them, Henderson and Welbeck will add 863 Premier League games’ worth of experience to a changing room now overseen by new manager Xabi Alonso, 44.

Henderson said: 'Given the size of the club, the manager, who I have great admiration for, and the quality of the players, this was a huge opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

‘I was also so impressed with how much the ownership want Chelsea to be successful and move in the right direction.

‘For me, it's about giving everything every single day, both on and off the field, to help the players around me and the team as much as possible. I'm very excited to get going.’

Alonso identified during his talks to take over Chelsea that their squad was in need of greater balance among the players. The Blues had broken Premier League records for fielding the youngest sides over the previous two seasons, but they had been criticised by fans on occasion for appearing to lack maturity on and off the pitch.

Chelsea previously targeted Granit Xhaka, the 33-year-old Sunderland captain who had worked with Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, but were unable to get him out of the Stadium of Light. They likewise showed interest in John Stones, who has now joined Inter Milan at 32.

Yet they have now secured Henderson for free, while the fee for Welbeck is being described as ‘undisclosed’, though his cost is by no means substantial, if indeed there even is one.

Welbeck has already travelled to Hong Kong to join his new team-mates. Daily Mail Sport reported last week how Brentford were ready to sanction Henderson’s exit rather than seek a fee from Chelsea. He is still recovering from the broken arm he suffered with England at the World Cup.

These signings are concrete confirmation that Chelsea have adjusted their transfer strategy by now aiming to add experienced leaders to their squad. Previously, there had been a focus on finding younger players of potential.

Maxence Lacroix, 26 and from Crystal Palace, has already been confirmed by Chelsea for £52million. Morgan Rogers has also arrived for £117m from Aston Villa.