Danny Welbeck

Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah "Danny" Welbeck (born 26 November 1990 in Manchester, England) is an English footballer who plays for Manchester United and the England national football team. He is a centre forward who can also play on the wing.

Welbeck 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.

At international level Welbeck has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19, under-21 and senior levels. He made his senior debut in March 2011 in a 1–1 friendly draw against Ghana.

Born in Longsight, Manchester, England, to Ghanaian parents, Welbeck 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.

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.

On 25 January 2008, Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that 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.

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. 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. 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 Wolves. On 27 October 2009, Welbeck scored in his second successive League Cup game, netting 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, Welbeck became Alex Ferguson's son Darren'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.

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. 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.

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, number three for Manchester United, 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. Welbeck scored twice in a Champions League group match against FC Basel in September 2011, the game ended 3–3. Welbeck 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 Ji-Sung Park before sweeping low into the bottom corner to seal the win.

Welbeck made his England Under-16s debut as a 14-year-old in October 2005 against Wales in the Victory Shield, which England 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 England 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.

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. Welbeck 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.

On 18 November 2008, it was reported that the Ghana Football Association was keeping tabs on Welbeck, with a view to him representing the Ghana national team in the future. On 29 March 2011 Welbeck was called up to the England squad, for their friendly fixture against Ghana.Welbeck replaced Ashley Young in the 81st minute of a 1–1 draw with Ghana at Wembley Stadium. He has been further picked for the friendly against the Netherlands on 10 August 2011, however that match was called off due to the London Riots. He played in England's deciding Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro on 7 October 2011, coming on as a substitute for Theo Walcott in the second half.