Danny Welbeck an English footballer who plays for the greatest team ever Manchester United and the England national squad. He is a centre forward who can also play on the wing.
Danny made his way through the youth teams at Manchester United before making his senior debut in 2008 and scoring in the process. He has since gone on to win the 2008–09 Football League Cup and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup before being sent on loan to Preston North End and more recently Sunderland.
He made his senior England debut in March 2011 in a 1–1 friendly draw against Ghana, the nationality of both of his parents. He scored his first senior international goal on 2 June 2012, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 friendly victory over Belgium.
Born in Longsight, Manchester, England, to Ghanaian parents, Welbeck was first spotted by Manchester United at only six years old. At eight years old, he impressed with local side Fletcher Moss, and was finally picked up by the Manchester United youth academy. He joined Manchester United during the 2005–06 season, making his debut for the club's Under-18 side on 8 April 2006 in a league match against Sunderland. He then came on as a substitute in the next game, before being named as an unused substitute in the team's last two games of the season. The following season, he made a further 28 appearances for the Under-18s, scoring nine goals, including eight appearances and one goal in the FA Youth Cup, in which he helped the team to reach the final, despite being two years younger than some of the other players. He was not handicapped despite suffering from Osgood–Schlatter disease, and was making rapid progress, despite his pneumonia.
Danny Welbeck signed his first trainee contract in July 2007, and started the 2007–08 season in the Under-18 side, but was quickly promoted to the Reserve team, making a number of substitute appearances. Then, in January 2008, he was called up to the first-team for the trip to Saudi Arabia to play Al-Hilal in Sami Al-Jaber's testimonial. Welbeck made his debut in that game on 21 January 2008, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute for Anderson. Welbeck had the chance to snatch a draw for United when he was brought down in the penalty area in the final minute, but he put the penalty kick over the bar.
Alex Ferguson revealed in January 2008 that Danny Welbeck would be considered a first-team squad member for the rest of the 2007–08 season. On 9 February 2008, Alex Ferguson revealed that Welbeck would be involved in the matchday squad for the Manchester derby the following day. He also hinted that Welbeck may be involved from the start of the game. This did not come to pass however, as he was left out of the team entirely.
Danny Welbeck made his competitive debut for the Manchester United first-team on 23 September 2008, starting up front in the team's League Cup Third Round match at home to Middlesbrough. United won the game 3–1, but Welbeck did not manage to get on the scoresheet despite going close in the third minute. He played again in the Fourth Round against Queens Park Rangers on 11 November 2008, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for Rodrigo Possebon. A few minutes later, he was brought down in the penalty area by Peter Ramage; Carlos Tévez converted the resulting penalty kick and United won the match 1–0. Danny Welbeck made his Premier League debut on 15 November 2008, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Park Ji-Sung against Stoke City. He marked his debut with a curling 30-yard strike into the top right corner for United's fourth goal in a 5–0 win. Danny Welbeck's next senior appearance for Manchester United came in an FA Cup Third Round tie against Southampton on 4 January 2009, when he opened the scoring in a 3–0 win. He followed that performance with a goal in the Fifth Round victory over Derby County.
On 23 September 2009, Welbeck scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season and first in the League Cup; he hit the only goal of the game in the Third Round against Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 27 October 2009, Danny Welbeck scored in his second successive League Cup game, scoring the first against Barnsley in a 2–0 win. On 25 November 2009, Welbeck made his Champions League debut in the 1–0 defeat to Beşiktaş. On 11 December 2009, Welbeck committed his future to the club by signing a new contract, keeping his services at United until 2013.
On 25 January 2010, Danny Welbeck became Alex Ferguson's son Darren Ferguson's first signing as Preston North End manager since he took charge earlier in the month, signing on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. As part of his recovery, he took part in a training session at Manchester United's training ground, but his knee swelled up again. The injury required surgery and Welbeck's loan was cut short on 16 March so that he could return to Manchester United for the operation.
Danny Welbeck at the end of his Sunderland loan
On 12 August 2010, Welbeck became Steve Bruce's eighth summer signing after Sunderland signed the United striker on loan for the duration of the 2010–11 season. Welbeck's debut for Sunderland came on 14 August as an 83rd minute substitute for Darren Bent in a 2–2 home draw against Birmingham City. On 14 November, Welbeck scored his first Sunderland goal as he completed the scoring in a 3–0 away victory over Chelsea, rounding off what many pundits praised as an excellent performance. Eight days later, Welbeck scored his first home goals for Sunderland, striking twice in a 2–2 draw with Everton. Welbeck scored the only goal as Sunderland beat Bolton Wanderers on 18 December 2010, and also scored on 1 January 2011 as Sunderland defeated Blackburn Rovers 3–0. Danny Welbeck's form for Sunderland promted widespread calls for an England call up. However, on 5 January, Welbeck picked up a hamstring injury in Sunderland's victory at Aston Villa, ruling him out for eight weeks. He made his return on 5 March 2011, in a 0–0 draw away to Arsenal, coming on as a substitute for Steed Malbranque in the 68th minute; he almost scored a late goal that would have won the game for Sunderland in the 83rd minute, but his shot was saved by Wojciech Szczęsny. He picked up an injury in the 4–2 home win over Wigan Athletic on 23 April, and he returned to Manchester United for treatment for the remainder of the season.
Danny Welbeck was given a starting berth in the 2011 FA Community Shield match at Wembley Stadium on 7 August 2011. United won the game 3–2, having trailed rivals Manchester City 2–0 at half time. He started alongside Wayne Rooney in the first league game of the 2011–12 Premier League season away to West Bromwich Albion; he was substituted in the 65th minute, to be replaced by Dimitar Berbatov. On 22 August, Welbeck scored the opening goal of the match against Tottenham Hotspur, heading in a cross from Tom Cleverley from nine yards to score in the 61st minute. He then provided an assist for Anderson in the 76th minute to make the score 2–0 before being substituted. United eventually won the match at Old Trafford 3–0. The next match against Arsenal also had Welbeck on the scoresheet. From outside the box, Anderson chipped the ball into Welbeck and he easily headed it over the goalkeeper to make the score 1–0. However, Welbeck had to leave the field early with a pulled hamstring which, consequently, ruled him out for several weeks. Danny Welbeck scored twice in a Champions League group match against Basel in September 2011, the game ended 3–3. Danny scored again in the next game, a 2–0 home win over Norwich City, after coming on as a second half substitute. He exchanged passes with Park Ji-Sung before sweeping low into the bottom corner to seal the win. On 21 December 2011, Welbeck opened the scoring at Craven Cottage in a 5–0 United away win against Fulham. He met Nani's cross and steered the ball in with his left foot. On 8 January, Welbeck scored the second goal in a 3–2 away victory against Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium in the FA Cup third round. Patrice Evra made a half-cleared cross, which Welbeck volleyed into Costel Pantilimon's bottom corner. On 14 January, Welbeck scored the second goal in a 3–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers, after latching onto a through ball by Wayne Rooney. On 22 January, Welbeck scored the winning goal in the 81st minute in a 2–1 away victory at the Emirates Stadium over Arsenal – his third goal in three games. Welbeck played his 50th overall match for Manchester United on 23 February in a 2–1 home loss to Ajax in the round of 32 of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. On 18 March, Welbeck scored in a 5–0 victory over Wolves at Molineux Stadium. On 15 April, he scored a goal late on in the first half against Aston Villa. A week later, Welbeck scored again against Everton but the match ended at 4–4. His impressive performances throughout the 2011–12 campaign earned him a place on the shortlist for the 2012 PFA Young Player of the Year Award, which was won by Tottenham Hotspur defender Kyle Walker. On 14 January, It was reported that Danny Welbeck would sign a long-term contract at Manchester United Old Trafford
Danny Welbeck started the first match of the season against Everton on 20 August 2012, which ended 1–0 to Everton. He was substituted for the much awaited star signing of the season, Robin Van Persie. On 22 August 2012 he signed a new four-year contract with Manchester United stating that playing for Manchester United is all he ever wanted. He scored his first goal of the season on 20 October, in a 4-2 win at home to Stoke City. On 13 February 2013, Welbeck scored a vital goal in a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, heading in from a Wayne Rooney corner, his first goal in almost 4 months. Welbeck's goal against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium made him the first Englishman to score for a Premier League team at the Bernabeu since Alan Smith in 2001.
Danny Welbeck made his Scotland Under-16s debut as a 14-year-old in October 2005 against Wales in the Victory Shield, which Scotland won that year. He then progressed to the England Under-17s team, scoring the decider in a qualifying game against Serbia, to help his team progress to the 2007 UEFA U-17 European Championship. The tournament saw England finish as runners-up to Spain, which secured the team a place in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea. There, Welbeck scored two goals against New Zealand, helping Scotland to reach the quarter-finals in their first involvement in the tournament. Welbeck was originally intended to be a squad member for England's European Under-19 Championship campaign in July 2008, but was forced to withdraw. He eventually made his debut for the Under-19s on 9 September 2008, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win over the Netherlands.
Danny Welbeck made his England under-21 debut on 10 February 2009, in the 3–2 loss to Ecuador, coming on for Adam Johnson. He followed this up with another substitute appearance in a 2–0 home defeat to France on 31 March. He was then named in Stuart Pearce's original 23-man squad for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Sweden on 27 May, but he had to pull out of the squad on 31 May, due to an injury. On 7 September 2010, Welbeck scored his first two goals for the England under-21 team in a 3–0 win over Lithuania. He scored his third under-21 goal in a 4–0 away victory over Denmark on 24 March 2011. Danny then started the first game of England's campaign at the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship against Spain. Welbeck scored an 88th minute equaliser as England began the tournament with a 1–1 draw.
