INJURY has undoubtedly caused Danny Welbeck to miss more games of football than he would have wished but the game is full of admirers for the longevity of his career.
As Gabby Logan said on Match of the Day, like a good wine, Welbeck seems to be getting better with age. He has scored more Premier League goals per game in his thirties than he did in his twenties or teens.
His 10 Premier League goals for Brighton last season was his best goalscoring campaign in the top flight and in the autumn of 2025 he has already scored two goals apiece against Newcastle and Chelsea, opponents competing in the Champions League.
“I have the passion and love for football,” he told Match of the Day after scoring the pair against Newcastle. “It’s what I want to do. I feel good. I feel strong and fit so I won’t be stopping soon.”
And as BBC Sport reporter Ciaran Kelly pointed out, Welbeck has the knack of scoring crucial goals for the Seagulls: 11 of his last 12 Premier League goals for Brighton have either put the side ahead (eight) or drawn the game level (three).
Welbeck has now played more matches for Brighton than Manchester United, the club he joined aged eight and where he spent 15 years, rising from the club’s academy, making his way through the junior sides and going on to play 142 first team games (90 starts + 52 as sub) between 2008 and 2014.
The 29 goals he scored along the way played a big part in him earning selection for the England national team for whom he collected 42 caps between 2011 and 2018 having also won 42 caps across the various junior England levels. Welbeck netted 16 times for the full England side.
That there have been calls in certain spheres for United to try to take him back to Old Trafford as he approaches his 35th birthday are a mark of the man and the quality he still exudes.
Striker-turned-pundit Tony Cascarino even urged Thomas Tuchel to recall him for England as back-up for Harry Kane. He told talkSPORT: “Welbeck contributes in various ways beyond scoring. His goal tally isn’t huge, but it’s a decent level and, above all, he is an excellent team player.
“I’ve never seen anyone speak ill of his attitude or professionalism. He is truly an exemplary veteran,”
Cascarino added: “Poland still uses superstars like Robert Lewandowski. If a team needs a veteran, I think there’s absolutely no problem calling Welbeck back,”
Graham Potter was in charge when Welbeck arrived at the Albion in October 2020 on a free transfer, signing a one-year contract.
Potter moved on but in October 2024 he couldn’t speak highly enough of what the player had brought to the Seagulls, in particular as an influence on others.
“Somebody like Danny is a role model. He can teach you how to act, how to be, how to condition yourself and how to interact with your team-mates at the highest level,” said Potter, speaking on BBC Sounds’ Planet Premier League podcast.
“He is a top player and a top person. Credit to the club – they didn’t just recognise that it is about signing young players, it is also about understanding what older players can do for the environment and for the collective.
“To have someone [in your squad] that has been there and done it, and can just handle it well, I think is priceless as a coach.
“If you see what Danny has had to go through, I think he is also a resilient character. He is a good human being, so he doesn’t get carried away too much with the nonsense of football.”
Potter’s successor Roberto De Zerbi was equally effusive. “Great player, great guy,” said the Italian. Speaking in April 2024, when his own Albion future was in doubt, he said of Welbeck: “We have to keep him for a lot of years. He is playing very well and he is important for the young players, for the dressing room.”
A couple of months earlier in the season, De Zerbi’s assistant, Andrea Maldera, told Andy Naylor of The Athletic: “Danny is one of the best teachers on the pitch.
“He is always positive and he is not only a teacher on the pitch. He can speak with a young player when he is eating with them or when he is on the bus.
“He always gives a lot of advice to everybody. He is a big teacher, he has the soul of a teacher. I don’t know what he wants to do in the future in his life, but he is always very clear-minded. On the pitch, it is the same. He doesn’t speak a lot, but he’ll go close to the players, sometimes work a little with them on the training ground.”
Welbeck himself appreciated the influences of more experienced players in his own early days and told BBC Sport’s Simon Stone: “At Manchester United there were lots of players to guide me and give me advice. It meant a lot back then hearing that sort of stuff, listening to people who had been through certain situations and different experiences, who have a lot of knowledge in the game.
“I am always happy to help with the other players. It is pretty easy for them to come and talk to me. It’s nice to pass on a bit of knowledge and experience.”
Born in the Longsight suburb of Manchester on 26 November 1990, Welbeck’s first games of football were played with his older brothers Wayne and Chris when he was just four or five.
Wes Brown, who was already on United’s books, and his brothers lived nearby and the young Welbeck was inspired to follow in Brown’s footsteps.
He actually had a trial for City when he was eight but they didn’t have an age group side for him. It was while he was playing for local side Fletcher Moss Rangers that United seized the opportunity to offer him a two-week trial, and he didn’t look back.
After progressing though the academy schoolboy squads, he made his debut for the youth team in December 2006, debuted for the reserves the following October and was United Young Player of the Year for the 2007-08 season, going on to sign as a professional in July 2008.
Three months later, Sir Alex Ferguson gave him his first team debut, starting up front alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at home to Middlesbrough in the third round of the League Cup, when United won 3-1.
In November, he went on as a substitute to make his Premier League debut and scored United’s fourth goal in a 5-0 thumping of Stoke City, unleashing a swerving shot from 30 yards.
Welbeck was winning his first significant medal before that season was over after he had started for United in the League Cup final, when they beat Tottenham on penalties at Wembley (although Welbeck had been subbed off 10 minutes into the second half, the BBC match report noting “youngster Welbeck was having a tough time making an impact in the face of the physical presence of Dawson and King”).
He scored twice in eight matches on loan to Preston North End in 2010 and then spent the 2010-11 season on loan to Sunderland, scoring six in 28 matches (23 starts plus five as sub) for ex-United skipper Steve Bruce’s Premier League side.
“He has always had ability but made slow progress because he had a bit of a knee growth problem, so we knew we had to wait for him,” said Ferguson in August 2011. “We put him on loan to Sunderland last season and that is when he became a man. He has grown up.”
Dat Guy (Mancunian slang for The Man), the nickname given to him by former United teammate Ravel Morrison, was part of the 2012-13 Premier League title-winning squad (23 starts plus 17 as sub) which turned out to be Ferguson’s last in the hotseat.
He scored 10 in 24 starts plus 12 as sub under David Moyes, but Dutchman Louis van Gaal preferred to bring in Colombian striker Radamel Falcao and, after only three games at the start of the 2014-15 season, Welbeck was sold to Arsenal for £16m (Ferguson putting in a good word with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger).
Plenty of iconic United names, such as Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Bryan Robson, voiced their disapproval of the decision and former coach Rene Meulensteen was adamant Ferguson wouldn’t have sold him if he’d still been in charge.
Meulensteen told talkSPORT: “We were always keen on bringing young players through and giving them a chance. I had him from when he was 8, 9 years of age and I think the best of Danny is yet to come.
“He is a very versatile player and I’m 100 per cent sure he will do very, very well for Arsenal. Danny is a perfect match for Arsenal. He is such a versatile player.
“He is very good in short, creative, combination play, showing for the ball, passing and moving, picking up different positions. At the same time, he has the pace and power to break away if they break from their own half.”
Robson said: “He came through the ranks, he has a great attitude, he’s a great lad.” And Wayne Rooney told The Mirror: “Danny’s great to play alongside. If I’m completely honest, I’d probably like to still see him here, playing for Manchester United.”
Saying United let him go too quickly, Gary Neville added: “He’s actually perfect for how Manchester United should play. Threatening space in behind, playing off front players. This idea that he’s not good enough for Manchester United is absolutely rubbish.”
In a January 2025 interview with the Manchester Evening News, Welbeck remembered: “At the time I was playing on the left-wing a lot and in a 4-4-2, which is very difficult for me because I can’t make an impact on the game.
“I can play it to the best of my ability but that’s not best for the team, and I could make a bigger impact playing in my preferred position.
“You start to have thoughts but at that time you’re still going to training and I was still giving 100 per cent and giving my all in every single game – that’s just me, I’m not going to change that. But you do start to think about what’s best for you.”
Apart from anything else, Welbeck was an established member of the England set-up by then.
He had been on loan at Sunderland when he was first called up to the England senior squad (following the withdrawal of Aaron Lennon) only days after scoring for England Under-21s in a win over Denmark.
Ironically, the opponents at Wembley on 29 March 2011 were Ghana – the country his parents came from – and Fabio Capello sent him on in the 81st minute as a sub for Ashley Young. The game ended 1-1.
He ultimately featured under four different England managers (albeit Stuart Pearce only managed one game) with the majority (29) under Roy Hodgson. His final England game was as a sub for Trent Alexander-Arnold at the 2018 World Cup in a 1-0 defeat to Belgium.
When Welbeck suffered a badly broken night ankle in a Europa League match for Arsenal in November 2018, and was forced to withdraw from the England squad, Gareth Southgate revealed how the squad showed their strong bond with him by placing his photo on a TV they were watching ahead of a Nations League match.
And after he’d left Arsenal in the summer of 2019, but was still recovering from the ankle injury, the FA helped his comeback by allowing him to use all of the facilities he needed at the St George’s Park national centre.
Another illustration of the enduring relationships Welbeck has built during his career came after he’d scored an extra-time winner for Brighton at St James’ Park in March 2025 to book an FA Cup quarter-final against Nottingham Forest.
Ferguson phoned the player after the game, and Welbeck told BBC Football Focus: “He talked about the goal and the performance. He was buzzing and to have that sort of connection, he is a manager who is always looking out for his players, always wants the best for them, and still to this day is in contact.”
At Arsenal, Welbeck played under another great manager and he told the programme: “Sir Alex Ferguson got success in his own way, Arsene Wenger had success in his way. There’s different ways to reach success. Those two managers played a huge part in my life, not just my career.”
• More about Welbeck’s time at Arsenal in my next blog post.
His passion and aggression sometimes got the better of him and the only reason he wasn’t ever present was a penchant for bookings – 12 over the course of the season – which earned suspensions, and a couple of injury-induced absences. And he was missed when he wasn’t available.
McShane and Steele had both been members of United’s winning FA Youth Cup team of 2003, a side which also included Kieran Richardson and Chris Eagles, who went on to make names for themselves in the game.
Steele was between the posts as the Seagulls won 3-1 at St James’ Park to win promotion to the elite for the first time in their history, a particularly sweet moment considering Newcastle had discarded him early on in his career.
In parallel lines 