Born on this day is former Sunderland, Manchester United and Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck. The ex-England international is still plying his trade in the Premier League, playing for Brighton.
Welbeck came through Manchester United’s coveted academy, making his Premier League debut in November 2008 as a substitute in a 5-0 win over Stoke City. The forward marked his debut with a stunning curled strike from 30 yards out, aged just 17 at the time.
After a brief spell on loan to Preston, managed by Sir Alex Ferguson’s son Darren, Welbeck signed for former United defender Steve Bruce’s Sunderland on loan.
He made his debut for the lads as a late substitute for Darren Bent in a 2-2 draw with Birmingham, scoring his first goal in our famous 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge. Welbeck, lively all game, scored Sunderland’s third after latching onto Ashley Cole’s sloppy backpass.
Just eight days later, the United loanee scored his first goals at home when he put two past Everton at the SoL.
A hamstring injury in January 2011 ruled Welbeck out for eight weeks, just as his form was heating up and fans were speculating an England callup. In April, he sustained another injury which cut his season short, returning to Man United.
After impressing on Wearside, Welbeck went on to make a name for himself as a regular at United, and in February 2013 became the first Englishman to score at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium since Alan Smith in 2001.
In 2014, manager Louis Van Gaal moved Welbeck to the left wing, although his preferred position was clearly up front. This was one of the reasons why at the end of the season, Welbeck made his intentions of leaving public. He joined Arsenal for £16 million on deadline day 2014, after racking up 142 appearances and 29 goals in all competitions for the Red Devils.
After a slow start at the Emirates, Welbeck scored his first goal in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa, and scored a hat trick in the Champions League just a few weeks later against Galatasaray. Injuries meant Welbeck’s career at Arsenal was stop-start, and he was never prolific as a goalscorer. He never reached more than five Premier League goals for the Gunners.
Welbeck is now playing for Brighton and Hove Albion after a short stint with Watford, and has received plaudits for his hard work off-the-ball and link-up play. Two qualities we saw plenty of during his short time on Wearside.
