Chelsea’s reported transfer pivot to Sunderland’s class of 2010

According to The Guardian’s Football Daily email, Chelsea’s latest transfer policy appears to be an attempt to reassemble the Sunderland team that won 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in November 2010. The newsletter notes that Danny Welbeck, then a 19-year-old on loan from Manchester United, scored in that match, while Jordan Henderson controlled midfield alongside Lee Cattermole.

Sixteen years later, Welbeck and Henderson are teammates again. The Guardian’s newsletter suggests Chelsea have been guided by a sudden acceptance of Alan Hansen’s old warning, and wonders playfully whether the club might now try to convince Craig Gordon to come out of retirement, bring Bolo Zenden back for a second spell, or recruit Kieran Richardson as cover for Marc Cucurella.

The light-hearted theory features in the latest edition of Football Daily, The Guardian’s daily football email. Readers looking for related match highlights can find them elsewhere on this site.