Would Brighton sell Danny Welbeck back to Manchester United?
If somebody said to you back in July that Brighton would be fending off a January bid from Manchester United for Danny Welbeck, you would have told them to lay off the mushrooms.
Either that or asked them where they got a batch so potent as to cause such delusions. And how much they cost.
Yet here we are. The Welbeck to United campaign is gathering pace and not just from those who have been foraging in forests for magical fungi.
It started when The Athletic revealed Erik ten Hag wanted to sign Welbeck in the summer. That raised a lot of eyebrows, but it was not long before Gary Neville jumped on the bandwagon.
The former United defender claimed Welbeck should never have been sold by Louis van Gaal back in the summer 2014 transfer window.
Neville added that Welbeck could still be doing a job now for the Red Devils had he remained at Old Trafford these past 10 years.
Then another ex-United player piped up. Lee Sharpe told Mega Dice in November: “Manchester United could look at someone like Danny Welbeck in January.”
“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 Hojlund 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.”
So, could it actually happen? Would United entertain using some of the money they have made by whacking ticket prices up to £66 and removing concessions to afford Welbeck?
Or how about the money saved by making 250 members of staff redundant? A radical thought, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe could even dip into his near £30 billion fortune which he moved to tax-free Monaco in 2020.
It may appear an odd move, United re-signing a 34-year-old they happily offloaded to Arsenal for £16 million a decade ago.
But United have a problem scoring goals. Or at least they did under Ten Hag. Forwards Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee had just just four goals between them prior to Ruben Amorim arriving in Manchester.
Welbeck has six on his own already this season for Brighton. That makes him the third-highest English scorer in the Premier League behind Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins.
There is also something of a leadership problem at Old Trafford. The fact that moany little rat Bruno Fernandes wears the captain’s armband speaks for itself. And that is before you even get onto the attitude of players like Antony.
Welbeck addresses both the scoring and leadership issues. Whilst Igor Julio and Jan Paul van Hecke ensured Brighton haven’t missed Lewis Dunk defensively during his injury absence, Welbeck has done an excellent job taking over the captain’s armband.
He is the consummate professional, something which Fabian Hurzeler has been keen to point out on multiple occasions.
Welbeck is obviously a Hurzeler favourite, as would any striker with six goals in 13 appearances be for a new manager.
Take away Welbeck’s goals and assists this season and Brighton would be eight points worse off. With the Premier League as tight as it is, that’s the difference between fifth and 14th.
Dat Guy is currently indispensable to the Albion. Which raises the ultimate question governing a Welbeck move from Brighton to United in January – how much would it cost to take him to Old Trafford?
The Albion are famous at planning for every transfer scenario. But not even Brighton would have considered needing an asking price for a 34-year-old who, before this season, had not scored more than seven Premier League goals in any of his four campaigns for the club.
It is therefore almost impossible to figure out how much Welbeck could move from Brighton to United for and what would represent a good deal for either party.
On the one hand, any player who is the third-top scoring Englishman in the Premier League could go for something like £50 million.
But on the other, Welbeck is 34. There is going to be zero resale value and he is likely to be heading towards retirement in a couple of years time.
From a financial point of view, Welbeck arrived on a free after being released by Watford in 2020. Anything banked is therefore pure profit for Brighton.
The Albion have also shown a willingness to let players leave for nominal fees if they have served Brighton with distinction over a period of time – and if the move has some sort of genuine emotional appeal.
Pascal Gross is the best example of this. Gross joined the club he supported as a boy, Borussia Dortmund, for just £8 million in the summer.
Alexis Mac Allister also departed for a below-par £35 million to Liverpool after helping Brighton into the top six and bringing global attention to the club by winning the World Cup.
If Welbeck asks the Albion to allow him to return to Manchester and finish his career back where it all began, would Brighton really play hardball and price Dat Guy out of a move?
Or is his current importance too great for the Albion to countenance a January sale, especially with Evan Ferguson having scored only one domestic goal in over 12 months?
There is another factor to consider as well – a certain Viktor Gyokeres. United were heavily linked with the ex-Brighton striker even before his former Sporting boss Amion swapped Lisbon for Manchester.
It now seems a no brainer United will lead the chase to reunite Amion with the striker he helped turn into one of the most deadly and in-demand in Europe.
Gyokeres moving to Old Trafford would dramatically reduce any need for United to sign Welbeck from Brighton. It could therefore be that the one who got away Gyokeres ends up helping the Albion three-and-a-half-years after his £1 million move to Coventry City by ensuring Welbeck stays at the Amex.
Funny the way things can work out.
