STUART JAMEStalks to young Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck ahead of today's big game
IT IS Tuesday afternoon in Manchester and Danny Welbeck is in a relaxed mood. The Manchester United striker has been talking for more than an hour, discussing everything from the adrenaline rush he experienced the first time he scored in front of the Stretford End to the difficulties of eating chicken wings at Nando’s and the awkwardness he felt when he realised he had been allocated a locker next to Cristiano Ronaldo.
“You’re thinking: ‘Am I a bit too much in his space?’ ” Welbeck breaks into laughter as he tells the last story, as he recalls what it was like to be a teenager mixing with players such as Ryan Giggs, whom he idolised when he first started kicking a ball in Markfield Avenue, the same street in the district of Longsight where Wes Brown grew up.
Born and raised in Manchester, Welbeck is United through and through, which helps to explain why his eyes light up when the conversation turns to the prospect of facing Liverpool at Old Trafford today.
His mind drifts back to the days when he was playing in United’s junior teams, when the emphasis was on performances rather than results – apart from when Liverpool were the opposition.
“It’s just that rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool, you can’t lose,” Welbeck says, grinning. “Even when we were little kids, through the age groups, it felt like you had to win. The coaches would still want us to play football but the main aim was to win.”
With the enmity between the clubs so entrenched and the atmosphere when they face each other so poisonous, it seems hard to believe that the players can enjoy playing in these games, especially when they are the away team. Welbeck, however, insists that he has thrived on the intensity of the occasion this season.
“I think you have to relish the challenge and try and make a statement on the game,” says the England international, who started the Premier League match at Anfield in October and the FA Cup fourth-round tie last month.
“It is tough. The atmosphere is like a cauldron. But when it comes to the big games, you want to play in them.
“This will be my first United-Liverpool game at Old Trafford and I can’t wait. Enough said.”
Welbeck admits “there will be an edge to the game” because of the presence of Luis Suarez, although he would rather not discuss the eight-match ban the Liverpool forward received for racially abusing Patrice Evra. What he will say is he was disappointed with the treatment Evra received from the crowd in the FA Cup tie at Anfield.
“It was pretty much expected. But I totally disagree with it. I think anyone looking in from a neutral side of things, if you see someone who is not in the wrong getting victimised, I just think that is wrong.”
The comment is carefully delivered in Welbeck’s softly spoken manner. He is a humble and courteous young man, brought up with strong values by religious and hard-working parents who emigrated from Ghana in the late 1970s and always stressed the importance of a good education, even when it became clear to Victor and Elizabeth their third son was a football star in the making.
Welbeck did not let them down and left school with nine GCSEs at C or above, including As in English literature and maths.
His football ability caught the eye from a young age, although it is interesting to learn Manchester City allowed him to slip through their fingers.
“I was trialling with City at the age of eight,” Welbeck says. “But just before Christmas they told my dad: ‘He’s not good enough.’ My dad didn’t want to tell me because it was Christmas, so I was oblivious to the situation because dad just said there was going to be a break.
“I went for a tournament a week later, back with my local side, and that’s where United saw me and I’ve never looked back.”
With his mother’s agreement, Sunday mornings at church were swapped for matches at United’s training ground, where Welbeck made rapid progress. He played for England under-16s at the age of 14 and started in the FA Youth Cup final while still at school, although it is typical of how modest Welbeck is that a lot of the pupils were unaware of his life outside the classroom.
“There were plenty of people who didn’t know that I played for United,” Welbeck says. “I’m not one of those people that puts themselves out there. And I was never satisfied to be playing for United at 14 or 15; I wanted to play for Manchester United’s senior team.”
His chance may have come earlier but for problems with Osgood-Schlatter disease, a condition that causes pain beneath the knee cap and often afflicts teenagers who play a lot of sport and go through a growth spurt. His patience, however, was rewarded in November 2008, when he came off the bench against Stoke City, nine days before his 18th birthday, and marked his Premier League debut with a wonderful goal.
Welbeck’s face beams as he relives the moment. “I received the ball from [Dimitar] Berbatov and I played a one-two with Manucho and it was just subconscious . . . the shot was sweet, into the top corner. When the ball went in, that feeling . . . if that feeling was a drug I would be dead!” he says laughing. “I’ve never had that feeling again, not to that extent. It was surreal. I saw my brother Chris in the stand and he was virtually doing cartwheels down the stairs.”
The following summer Alex Ferguson spoke about Welbeck making the 2010 World Cup squad but by January of that year the centre forward was on loan at Preston, where he picked up an injury that brought his season to an abrupt end. It was another loan spell, with Sunderland last season, that accelerated his development and also delivered a first England cap, against Ghana in March.
“I got back from Sunderland and thought I was more like a man,” the 21-year-old says. “I thought this was my year to step up and show everyone what I could do.”
He has seized his opportunity and, judging by the profile of matches he has started this season, earned Ferguson’s trust. Five goals arrived in his first seven appearances and, although an injury briefly derailed his progress, he has come back strongly, scoring four in his past eight matches.
“I’ve played in quite a few big games and it’s going to be tough – not everyone is going to score a hat-trick against Arsenal, Chelsea or City, so I’m pretty pleased with my goal return,” Welbeck says.
He has 18 months remaining on his contract at Old Trafford and is keen to set the record straight following speculation that talks are at an impasse because of his demands. “There’s been a lot of nonsense written about my contract situation. I’ve never asked or demanded a penny from United. Hopefully, I’ll be signing a new deal within the coming months, but right now I’m just getting my head down and concentrating on being the best that I can be, and giving my all for the club I love.”
One disappointment is that Ravel Morrison will not fulfil his potential alongside him. Morrison, who is a good friend, was sold to West Ham United on deadline day after Ferguson ran out of patience with the teenager’s magnetic attraction to controversy. “It will be tough for him to ditch his reputation because everyone will have the natural instinct that ‘Ravel has done this again’, but he’s a good kid at heart,” Welbeck says.
“I really hope he can get in the Premier League and show everyone what he can do. I just wish it was at United. Saying that, United have got so many good young footballers. There was all this hype around Ravel but not everyone is seeing the likes of Larnell Cole, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba, who are just as good in different ways.
“Sometimes I train against Larnell and Jesse and think I’m playing against a little Iniesta and Xavi. I really hope they can make that step up.”
For those that manage to break through, the experience is life-changing both on and off the field, as Welbeck has discovered.
“There is a lot of attention,” he says, smiling. “Sometimes you go into Nando’s and you want to tuck into the chicken wings with your fingers but you know someone is watching you, so you don’t. I’m sat there thinking: ‘If these chicken wings were at home, they would get demolished!’ But I’ve got to use a knife and fork and you end up saying: ‘Could I get a bag to take these home, please?’ ”
It is a small price to pay for stardom, especially at a time when Welbeck is chasing a place in the England squad for the European Championship and a first Premier League title with United.
Listening to this affable Mancunian talk about the future with such burning ambition, it is easy to understand why Ferguson believes he will be a United striker for years to come.
“I don’t want to just settle for making it, I want to make it as big as possible,” Welbeck says.
“There is no limit. You just keep going and going.”
