Xabi Alonso couldn't get his hands back on Granit Xhaka this summer, so he's turned to an older, English and more cheerleadery alternative.
Jordan Henderson really isn't anything like his Swiss counterpart, but he'll supply the experience and leadership that Alonso believes his Chelsea dressing room requires. The Blues are leading the race for the Brentford star, who would be allowed to leave the Bees on a free transfer despite having a year left on his contract.
The BlueCo project of player trading has died a sudden death by handing Alonso the keys, and that's certainly not a bad thing. Many will laugh at our London rivals adding a 36-year-old Henderson and a 35-year-old Danny Welbeck to a youthful squad, but Alonso has recognised the need for maturity in west London.
I think they're good pieces of business, and if the Henderson move does go through, a potential suitor for Pape Matar Sarr may emerge.
Watch out for Brentford as potential Pape Matar Sarr destination
We've waited for Sarr. The Senegalese midfielder has traits to admire, and he's certainly enjoyed bouts of form in north London that have suggested he could be an immensely valuable operator in a successful Spurs team.
But Sarr just hasn't developed as some thought he might. The 23-year-old can run, tackle and shoot, so there's no reason why he can't blossom elsewhere. However, his time in north London has seemingly run its course.
Roberto De Zerbi didn't pick him in his touring squad down under, with the club saying that he and Rodrigo Bentancur have been given extra time off to recover from their World Cup travails. In other words, they're up for sale.
Brentford have been tenuously linked with Sarr, and Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas said before the Henderson development that they're in the market for a midfielder this summer. Insider Paul O'Keefe said Spurs have previously offered the Senegalese international to the Bees, but they didn't bite. Their stance may change should they lose Henderson.
Sarr, I must say, is very Brentford. Thomas Frank loved his profile at the start of his tenure before an injury suffered in September disrupted his momentum. Frank's successor, Keith Andrews, is cut from a similar cloth, and I can envisage the all-action No. 8 thriving at the Gtech, where winning a second ball is celebrated as vociferously as an Arsenal corner down Seven Sisters Road.
Selling to a Premier League rival is certainly the way to go from a financial perspective.
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