Player Profile: Rising Star Danny Welbeck

Ally Abdallah

“Welbeck has done it once again and has given Manchester United a win to take them to the top of the table!”

Could this be something all of us are soon hearing on a regular basis? It’s certainly a possibility as Danny Welbeck improves himself day by day.

Born in Manchester, England on the 26th of November 1990 and educated at Trinity High in Hulme, Danny is 6 foot 1 inch tall. He wore the number 47 on his back when he joined Manchester United during the 2005-06 season and made his debut for the club as a striker in the Under-18 side in a league match against Sunderland. Welbeck signed his first trainee contract in July 2007, and was quickly promoted to the Reserve team, making a number of substitute appearances. Sir Alex Ferguson called the striker to the first team for the trip to Saudi Arabia to play Al-Hilal and Welbeck made his senior debut in that game, producing a confident and impressive 25-minute appearance.

He started his international career in the England U-16 team as a14-year-old in October 2005 against Wales in the Victory Shield. He then progressed to the England U-17 team scoring the only goal of the qualifying game against Serbia, to help his team advance to the 2007 UEFA U-17 European Championship. Welbeck scored two goals against New Zealand, helping England to reach quarter-finals in their first involvement in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea.

What drives me to write this article about Welbeck is the fact that he has broken the 24-year United quest to create an Old Trafford home-grown striker. He has been schooled in United’s youth system, a youth system that has failed to produce a top notch forward since a certain Old Trafford striker who made the grade in every possible way. This established senior was the legendary Mark Hughes. Welbeck is sure to bring a smile to the face of Sir Alex Ferguson who has spent over 100 million pounds on recruiting strikers from other clubs.

The fact that Welbeck was taken along with the first team to Rome, for the quarter-final match between Manchester United and AS Roma, is proof that the striker is destined for big things in the eyes of Ferguson and could be fast-tracked to become part of the senior setup on a regular basis. The reason as to why Sir Alex Ferguson selected him is because of his quality game play.

Beside the fact that he is a superb playmaker who has the ability to change games, Danny is quick and has the talent to drag the ball past defenders. He is confident on the ball and has great control. Arthur Albiston, a former United defender, stated," Manchester United have powerful players who have a low centre of gravity such as Rooney and Tevez; Welbeck could eventually, if he progresses as he should, offer another option."

Danny Welbeck has a unique advantage over the current Man Utd strikers in learning to play the United way from the beginning. In the near future, he will also be able to offer Sir Alex Ferguson the kind of striker he has not been able to buy. Welbeck is a promising newcomer who has been added to the list of strikers in the first team and has the potential and opportunity to go down in history as one of the most prominent players ever at Old Trafford!