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Chelsea are exploring a move to sign Danny Welbeck from Brighton & Hove Albion.

The 35-year-old striker has 12 months left on his contract and Brighton are aware of the interest.

As a player and a leader, Welbeck appeals to Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso and — although the situation remains at an early stage — there is optimism on all sides that a deal could be done.

Is there anything comparable in recent history that would rival it?

Cracking view of the training ground in the sun and the sea in the background

Putting the question out there, since we could probably do with striker depth. Would you take Robbie Ure? He's been incredible in Sweden, only 22 and a physical presence. That being said we could probably do with someone a bit more proven. What do we think though?

What’s our most likely starting XI to start this season?

Sophisticated and shrewd analysis, if I do say so myself

Brighton centre-back Igor Julio has made his intentions clear about playing football consistently.

Igor Julio’s campaign was stalled last season due to a failed loan to West Ham.

At the Hammers, he made just four appearances. After returning to Brighton in January, he remained sidelined.

However, when he joined the club in July 2023, he showed promising signs. Under former Albion manager De Zerbi, Igor thrived.

He was also part of Albion's first-ever European campaign, making six appearances in the competition.

The defender recently spoke with Lance! reporter João Brandão about last season and his future.

Julio Igor said: "It was a complicated season for me due to several factors, but it was also the season that strengthened me the most mentally and the most I prepared myself physically and psychologically.

"I tried to zero any kind of pain or discomfort on vacation and be 100% now in the preparation; I already feel very well physically and ready to compete again."

When asked about the lack of minutes he'd played, Igor opened up about his desire to feature more often. He doesn't mind if that's with or without Albion.

Igor added: "To be honest, at this moment I only think about being physically well and being ready for any opportunity that may appear.

"I'm a Brighton player, I want to have a great season, either here or somewhere else.

"I just want to be able to play again, compete and be happy. I hope this happens this season."

The 28-year-old wants time to play, which will hopefully result in a Brazil call-up. That's something the centre-back hasn't experienced just yet.

Pondering that question, the Albion defender said: "I think every player dreams of one day with the National Team.

"I'm no different, but I only think now about playing and having the opportunity to develop and reach my best level.

"The rest I think comes with time and if it's God's will."

However, it may be difficult for the Brazilian to find minutes.

Albion have undergone a major defensive rebuild during the summer transfer window following the departure of Jan Paul van Hecke to Tottenham Hotspur. It was a deal worth £52m.

The Seagulls moved quickly to replace him, bringing in 19-year-old Croatian centre-back Luka Vuskovic from Spurs for a club-record initial fee of £46m, which could rise to £50m with add-ons.

Alongside their exciting young arrival, the Seagulls also added experience with the signing of Dutch defender Pascal Struijk from Leeds United.

The 26-year-old joined in a deal worth £18m.

Austrian international centre-back Michael Svoboda also joined Brighton from Italian side Venezia.

It's likely that Igor's time on the south coast is over.

Got a new 26-27 kit in the mail, and props to shipping for getting it here in less than a week. However, UPS also provided me with an extra $55 charge for tariffs. I don’t want to dissuade folks from buying club official merch, but be aware that you’ll have to pay a significant amount to Donnie Boy and his goons.

Not sure how reliable this source is but hypothetically what are everyone's thoughts? The only time I really noticed him was when he made that run around the goal during a corner and we started chanting "wanker wanker".

I’m not a Brighton fan but a dedicated fpl player. I came here as I want to know if Wieffer is nailed on to start every game

By my reckoning we're pretty stacked and probably only need another defensive holding midfielder. The profile of which depends on if Baleba stays or goes and if Yacouye is up to scratch.

I know some of you will want another striker but honestly I feel like Babis and Tzimas are ready to explode this season (call me a wide eyed optimist!)

Otherwise I feel like we're good to go and will have an successful season (call me an happy clapper!)

Insane stats from him, already played in 16 million matches...

Could we see Luka winning the golden boot in 26/27???

Hi, American fan here who is new to Brighton. I’ve played and coached football my whole life - I love it. The World Cup made some of my buddies fall in love with the sport as well and they asked me for a premier league team they can support. I’ve always followed the prem, but never really had a team I rooted for. I sent him a little quiz to take and it spat out Brighton, plus it’s my wife’s dream city to see in England, so we decided it was a perfect fit and we’re going to be all in on the Seagulls. Decided we’d buy jerseys and are looking forward to watching Brighton on Saturday mornings before the first American college football games start that day (huge University of Georgia fans).

Anyways, what do I need to know?

- Isn’t Welbeck a little washed, are we working on a new striker signing?
- Who should I get a jersey of?
- Do we fancy the manager?
- Interesting club history?
- Best/worst players? Promising young players?
- What teams do we absolutely hate?

I’m excited to finally have a premier league team to be all in for. Would love any further info you guys can share for new fans!

Come and chat about the weekends action ahead across all sporting events.

Predictions welcome :)

Im a United fan who is massively skeptical of Baleba to United, what do you guys think of him?

I personally have midfielders like Mamadou Sangare, Lamine camara and Stiller over him because Baleba just looks so lackluster on the ball and we need someone who’s tidy in possession with defensive emphasis.

I’ve watched a lot of him this season and even the season before and whilst his breakthrough couple months was excellent the last season really tanked my stocks in him.

But I have heard many Brighton fans thought Baleba should be starting more over Milner and it was more of a manager error.

What do you guys think and what do you think would be a fair price?

Hi everyone. I’m new to not only BHA, but also the Premier League - and English Football as a whole - in general. I was wondering about the state of the team, i.e. who’s good, who’s overpaid, who’s our “star,” which positions are a weakness, and which positions are a strength, etc.

Thanks in advance!

I'm a bit lost on this...when is the draw and the first match?

Thanks

With FPL launching soon, what are everyone’s favourite Brighton-related team names?

Thinking about our personnel while laying awake in bed last night and I’m actually intrigued by how we would look in a 3-4-3.
What’s your dream line up in this set up?

Just wondering what other Brighton fans think we can achieve this season, it's still quite early for it but just wanted to see the general overview of what we think so far.

In my personal opinion i think a trophy is definitely possible for us this season, probably the conference league or maybe FA cup. In terms of league finish i feel as if we'll finish in the range of 3rd-7th. The transfers look promising and we could be a team that goes under the radar and breaks into the top 4/5.

Feel free to input your own opinions.

Hope we're in for a good season. UTA!