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Prominent pundit and Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes Danny Welbeck should have stayed at Old Trafford beyond 2014.
Welbeck was a product of the Red Devils' academy and broke into the first team in 2008 when Ferdinand and several other stars were still at the peak of their powers. He was loaned out to Preston North End in January 2010 and then to Sunderland that summer before returning to United in 2011.
Between 2011 and 2014, the Englishman featured 114 times for Manchester United, scoring 24 times and laying out 18 assists. He then departed for arch-rivals Arsenal for a reported fee of £16 million (via The Guardian).
Ferdinand, who played 71 times alongside Welbeck (41 wins and 18 losses), has now stated that he has told the latter that he should have stayed at Old Trafford. The former center-back's comments came on the back of Welbeck scoring for his current team, Brighton & Hove Albion, in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool over the weekend.
Asked if he texted the forward after he scored, Ferdinand said on FIVE (as quoted by HITC):
“Straight in the group chat. Is that what is going on? Nice. Welbz, man! He should have stayed at Manchester United. I always tell him that. He should have stayed.”
United's squad notably underwent a major overhaul in the summer of 2014 ahead of Louis van Gaal's first season with the club.
Apart from Welbeck, numerous other players, including Shinji Kagawa and Patrice Evra, were sold. Additionally, Nemanja Vidic, Anderson, Darren Fletcher and Ferdinand himself departed on free transfers.
Manchester United went on to sign Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind, with Radamel Falcao and Victor Valdes joining on loan deals.
Danny Welbeck's club career trajectory since departing Manchester United
Danny Welbeck's stint at Arsenal was marred by injuries, with the forward playing only 126 times between 2014 and 2019. He scored 32 goals and laid out 15 assists in those games, lifting two FA Cups.
In the summer of 2019, Welbeck joined Watford on a free transfer. His spell with the team lasted just one season, however, during which he scored thrice in 20 games. Brighton & Hove Albion signed him on a Bosman move in the 2020 summer transfer window.
Welbeck has been an excellent addition for the Seagulls, scoring 25 times and laying out 12 assists in 116 matches across competitions. He helped them qualify for the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League by recording 10 goal contributions in 31 Premier League matches last season.
