Ferdinand full of praise for Welbeck; disagreed with Manchester United exit | OneFootball

Rio Ferdinand doesn’t think Manchester United should have ever sold Danny Welbeck, who scored his fifth Premier League goal against his former club on Saturday.

The Brighton striker netted the 100th goal of his club career when Brighton beat Manchester United 2-1 at the Amex Stadium. His latest effort owed much to Harry Maguire opting against taking the risk of turning a low cross into his own goal, which allowed Kaoru Mitoma to retain possession at the far post and deliver a return pass in behind Erik ten Hag’s defence.

Footage courtesy of TNT Sports

After coming through the United academy system, and making 142 appearances for the first team, Welbeck was sold by Louis van Gaal in 2014.

Welbeck initially joined Arsenal before moving to Watford and Brighton.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Ferdinand was full of praise for Welbeck.

He said (via The Sun): “Nothing surprises me with Danny Welbeck. I watched him as a young kid at Manchester United and he was a wonderful player.

“I couldn’t believe it when United agreed to let him go because I thought he had so much value, not only as a player but just around the place as well as a former academy player.

“I think he’s someone who players who have played against him respect more than some fans who don’t quite realise how difficult he is to play against. He’s a great professional too.”

Stat attack: Welbeck’s opener for Brighton means he has scored five Premier League goals against United, only scoring more against West Ham (6). This means he has scored more goals against United than any other former player in the Premier League.

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