New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has been urged to target Brighton forward Danny Welbeck in January as he “needs an extra backup”.
Man Utd were held to a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town in Amorim‘s first game in charge on Sunday. Their performance in this stalemate made it clear that the 39-year-old has a huge job.
The Red Devils have struggled in front of goal this season as they only have 13 goals in their 12 Premier League matches. They are 17th in the open-play goals table.
Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have just two goals between them, while Alejandro Garnacho is their leading scorer with three.
Welbeck progressed through the ranks at Man Utd and left in 2014 to join Premier League rivals Arsenal. He’s subsequently had spells at Watford and Brighton.
The 34-year-old has surpassed expectations at Brighton as he’s been a great signing and has reached another level this season. He has six goals and two assists in his 12 Premier League appearances.
Ex-Man Utd star Lee Sharpe has encouraged his former club to re-sign Welbeck in January.
“Manchester United could look at someone like Danny Welbeck in January,” Sharpe said.
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I know he’s been at the club before, but he’s doing brilliant things at Brighton this season and looks a really assured and mature player at the moment. He’s working his socks off, creating and scoring goals, and he looks like he’s in his prime down there at the AMEX Stadium.
“That’s the type of striker I’m thinking of that is bright enough and strong enough to have a really good effect in the Premier League.
“I think Rasmus Højlund will come good eventually, but he’s still a bit raw and still needs a little but more composure, so the club probably need a bit of extra backup.”
Sharpe has also explained why he would prefer to sign£33m-rated Liam Delap from Ipswich Town instead of the 2024 top scorer in Europe Viktor Gyokeres.
“Viktor Gyökeres is having a really good season so far and I have no doubt Ruben Amorim would set up to get the best out of him, but he wouldn’t be my number one choice for the Premier League,” Sharpe added.
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“It depends if the club want to go for an older and more experience person to lead the line, but someone like Liam Delap from Ipswich is a fantastic player and had another good game on Sunday.
“He really gave Matthijs de Ligt a hard time and held onto the ball very well.”
On Marcus Rashford, he continued: “Marcus Rashford scored against Ipswich on Sunday, but I’d actually say he’s better on the wing than he is up front.
“He’s more suited at facing up to people rather than playing with his back to goal, so I’d say he looks a lot stronger coming in from the left and cutting in on his right foot.
“Rashford isn’t suited to holding the ball up and having to produce moments on his own. He’d require a lot more coaching if he was to continue in the number nine position, so I think he’ll eventually go back over to the left once Amorim has found a good balance within the rest of the team.”