Ashley Young admits he was ‘gutted’ Man Utd didn’t hijack Premier League rivals’ transfer this summer | OneFootball

Ashley Young has admitted he was left ‘gutted’ by Danny Welbeck’s move to Chelsea.

Instead, Young wanted to see his former teammate complete a shock return to Manchester United.

Danny Welbeck joins Chelsea in unexpected move

Welbeck signed for the Blues last month after Xabi Alonso spearheaded a move in order to add more leadership and experience to the dressing room.

The 35-year-old posed as an ideal candidate, while Chelsea also facilitated a deal for ex-Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.

At the time their pursuit of Welbeck had been made public knowledge, Rio Ferdinand urged United to hijack the talks and bring him back to Old Trafford.

After spending 13 years on United’s books, Welbeck was sold to Arsenal in September 2014 for £16m, and left with a record of 29 goals and 16 assists in 142 appearances.

Gary Neville believes the Reds, who were managed by Louis van Gaal at the time, should’ve never parted ways with the academy graduate, as he bid farewell to United and went on to do ‘brilliantly well’ throughout the rest of his career.

Even last season, he was being tipped for a World Cup call-up after notching 13 Premier League goals in 37 matches.

He was ultimately unlucky to miss out on a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s squad, but Alonso had seen enough to decide that Welbeck was the man he needed at Stamford Bridge.

What did Young have to say about Welbeck?

Now, Young has spoken out on the surprise transfer, telling talkSPORT: “Chelsea have made some good signings and they need some experience in that squad. He’s a really good friend of mine, Welbs is. I’ve been speaking to him the last couple of weeks.”

“Could he have been on the plane going to the World Cup? For me, I’m probably being biased in saying he should have, but he wasn’t.

“He’s been fantastic, and I’m gutted he hasn’t gone back to United, to be honest.”

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