Danny Welbeck has been told he can leave United, however, the only stipulation is that he can only go to a team outside of the top seven clubs. Whilst new manager Louis Van Gaal has the right to change personnel as he sees fit I was disappointed to suddenly see United fans commenting that Welbeck was not of United quality.
The boy plays for England for goodness sake! It will be a shame to see him go but I can understand Van Gaal wanting to free up some money and a squad place. As it stands, the Dutchman likes to play one or two strikers up front but rarely three. With three big name strikers vying for those positions Welbeck’s chances were always going to be limited and he would need to be patient. To be fair to the lad, he has been very patient… but I suspect playing for England he needs more first team action to cement his place in the England squad.
Any Premier League team would be lucky to have Danny Welbeck playing for them; however, do you remember former United starlet Frazier Campbell? I admit that is not a fare comparison, as Campbell was considered hot property and the future of United but actually only played twice for the Red Devils before moves down the Primer League table and he now ply’s his trade at Crystal Palace.
Does anyone remember Chris Eagles, Terry Cooke, Luke Chadwick, Ben Thornley or what about Neil Mellor at Liverpool or Francis Jeffers at Arsenal? All these players were tipped for greatness; in fact, all of them, except for Mellor and Jeffers, were considered the future of Manchester United. Nevertheless, clearly it never worked out for them. We have to accept that Van Gaal knows his business and if he thinks Welbeck is not of sufficient quality to be a United player then he has every right to let him go.
However, stipulating that he can only go to a team outside of the top seven is not only unfair on the lad but I am sure it’s downright illegal. If they are not planning to play him then he can rightly request to leave the club but to restrict where he goes and at what level club he can sign for is restricting his career. This, according to European Law, is most definitely illegal because no employer can hold back an employee and restrict their movements; we are all free to pursue our career goals as we see fit, after all.
Look at what happened to Carlos Tevez when he played for the unloved half of Manchester! He upset his manager (at the time) by failing to attend training and refusing to go on as a substitute (amongst other numerous club transgressions). The manager wanted to see him either “rot in the reserves” (direct quote) or loan him out to a lower league team by way of a punishment. However, he was unable to do so because the player was worth so much money and the manager was ultimately overruled by the board (who made an understandable business decision) and Tevez was sold. But that is exactly what the player wanted in the first place! The moral of the story is that players with a substantial dollar value are almost untouchable by manager but young players on the way up are subject to their whims.
Furthermore, I think it is rather insulting to Danny Welbeck to say you can only leave if you go to Stoke, Newcastle or Southampton, for example. If United don’t want him, if he is not good enough to be in the United squad then what are they worrying about? Surely he will pose no trouble should they face him against a top seven club? But there is the problem… Van Gaal knows he is a good player one who, if he plays in a top side, can pose a real threat on his return to the club.
But, for those fans arguing that he should be restricted as to where he can move ask yourselves if you would tolerate your employer insisting that you can leave but you’re not allowed to join any company that is within seven miles of the city centre, for example. You would be up in arms, especially if a big company up the road wanted you. In fact, you would be off to see your union representative (if you were in a union, that is).
Let the boy leave, thank him for his efforts and wish him all the best for the future and if you should meet him on the football field then treat him as you would another striker, with respect.
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