Manchester United have given several managers the reins since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 and it hasn’t always been good news for players
Louis van Gaal’s arrival at Manchester United sparked a summer of change(Image: Getty Images)
Former Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck is set to make a return to Old Trafford with Brighton & Hove Albion this Sunday. The 42-cap England international has been mentioned in connection with a surprise United homecoming in the January transfer window following his impressive performances on the south coast, sparking debate among those who believe United should never have let him go in the first place.
A local lad and crowd favourite, Welbeck marked his Premier League debut for United with a goal during Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure. After gaining experience during several loan stints, he was fully integrated into the first team under Ferguson and also bagged nine league goals from just 25 appearances during David Moyes’ single season at the helm.
The appointment of Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2014 signalled a new chapter for the club and it panned out better for some players than for others. While some of his colleagues thrived, it didn’t take long for Welbeck to realise that his future lay elsewhere.
Welbeck had grown frustrated during Moyes’ reign, frequently forced to play on the left wing where he didn’t feel he could show his best qualities. It soon also became clear that, were he to assume a central striker role under Van Gaal, it wouldn’t be as the manager’s top choice.
Van Gaal didn’t name Welbeck in any of his first three starting line-ups in the league. As August drew to a close, he was said to have informed the striker was free to depart, though he stopped short of sharing the full details of their conversations.
“I know what I said to Danny and Danny knows exactly what I said to him,” the manager said at the time. “I assume that Danny Welbeck is not saying anything about our conversation and also in that conversation was [the assistant manager] Ryan Giggs and he doesn’t say [anything] either, and that is the way it should be.”
However, as deadline day approached, a new complication arose for Welbeck. United made a dramatic move for Radamel Falcao, securing the striker on a season-long loan from Monaco.
The Colombian clearly wasn’t being brought in as fourth choice behind Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Welbeck. The latter determined it was the right moment to seek pastures new, completing a £16million switch to Arsenal in the dying embers of the transfer window.
Danny Welbeck during his first season at Arsenal(Image: PA)
“It’s exciting times for me,” Welbeck said after linking up with Arsene Wenger’s side. “It’s great to be a part of this club and it’s a team that I’ve always watched in the Premier League. I’ve envisaged myself playing in this team before. For it to finally happen is very exciting.”
When Welbeck came up against his former club for the first time in November 2014, he had already netted more goals that season than any of the strikers who remained at Old Trafford. Despite this, Van Gaal stood by the decision to sell him during a pre-match press conference.
“I think that a player who is playing mostly fixed in the team, he develops and always will,” Van Gaal said. “He takes all the benefit from playing every week.
“That was a question mark with Manchester United. It’s good to see he’s doing what I thought. He could have also played for Manchester United. But we have decided that he could go and he has taken the benefit of it.”
Yet Van Gaal’s fellow Dutchman and Ferguson’s former assistant Rene Meulensteen was convinced Ferguson would never have sanctioned Welbeck’s departure. “You look back through the history of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and we were always keen on bringing young players through and giving them a chance,” Meulensteen said.
Welbeck’s stint at Arsenal was plagued by injuries, restricting him to 126 appearances across five years, though he still delivered some moments to cherish. His 2019 transfer to Watford proved less successful, with the Hornets being relegated from the Premier League and subsequently allowing him to move to Brighton after a single season at Vicarage Road.
However, he’s found some of his best form on the south coast, and last season saw him reach double figures in a single Premier League campaign for the first time. With eight goals already this season, scoring at a rate of one every 140 minutes in the league, there’s been talk of a potential return to United and even a recall to the England squad for the first time since 2018.
When Welbeck lines up against his old employers, there will undoubtedly be some United supporters left pondering what could have been had circumstances under Van Gaal been different.
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