Manchester United ‘explored the conditions’ to bring a former striker back to the club in the summer window and even drafted a two-year contract, but why no move occurred has been revealed.
Man Utd entered the summer window intent on not only signing a new striker, but overhauling their forward line entirely.
Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo were the first to arrive. Once the dust has settled, they’ll line up in the two No 10 positions behind Benjamin Sesko.
Sesko is being eased in by Amorim so far, but long before the giant Slovenian arrived, Man Utd had other irons in the fire.
Their No 1 target at the very beginning of the window was Liam Delap. But after failing to qualify for the Champions League, Delap chose Chelsea instead.
It’s at that stage that Man Utd then gave serious consideration to bringing Danny Welbeck back to the club.
That’s according to the Athletic who detailed Man Utd’s thinking along with how advanced a move really was.
‘It can be disclosed that United explored conditions for bringing Danny Welbeck back,’ wrote the publication’s Man Utd expert, Laurie Whitwell.
‘Erik ten Hag wanted to sign Welbeck last year, but United could not progress amid a new executive structure and uncertainty on the manager. They returned to the prospect again.
‘Welbeck was Brighton’s joint-top scorer in the Premier League last season with ten goals, alongside Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma, and United felt he would add experience, technical quality, and heritage to the squad after spending 16 years at Old Trafford, graduating from the academy.
‘United considered making a proposal to Welbeck of a contract to 2027, should they agree a fee with Brighton. He would have been a relatively low-cost arrival to complement a marquee signing.
‘But Ratcliffe was known to feel United could not sanction a two-year deal for a player who is 35 in November and instead a one plus one was discussed, but the offer was not formalised.’
Were Man Utd right to abort Welbeck plans?
As mentioned, Welbeck’s age ultimately played a major part in Man Utd choosing not to act on their interest.
Welbeck was on Man Utd’s books between 2001-2014 and scored 29 goals in 142 senior appearances for the club.
He spent time at Arsenal and Watford before joining Brighton in 2020 where he remains to this day.
While Sesko hasn’t exactly made a lightning fast start to life at Man Utd, Welbeck hasn’t found the net in any of his three appearances for the Seagulls this season.
And in a season in which Man Utd have no European football, strength in depth is not as critical as it ordinarily would be at Old Trafford this term.
In truth, deciding NOT to re-sign the veteran frontman was probably the right call for Man Utd.
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