MANCHESTER, England (AP) — At 35 years old, the way his life was shaping up, england He may have found an unexpected answer to a 10-year-old problem just in the nick of time. world cup.
The question is growing whether manager Thomas Tuchel will give the veteran striker a chance after not playing for his country in eight years.
“There’s no way he won’t do what he’s doing now at the end of the season,” England great Rio Ferdinand told viewers on his YouTube channel last month after Brighton’s Danny Welbeck was again left out of the national team.
Welbeck’s best days seemed to be over. He joined Arsenal after coming from Manchester United’s famous youth team. The Premier League title and FA Cup winner was part of England’s squad at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
However, his last of 42 caps came in September 2018, and after injury and free transfers to Watford and Brighton, his career trajectory appeared to be on the decline.
Or maybe not.
With 13 goals this season, Welbeck has had his most prolific season in the Premier League. No English player in England’s top flight has scored more goals.
Harry Kane and Mason Greenwood are the only Englishmen to have surpassed him in Europe’s top leagues.
That in itself speaks to England’s longstanding problems in attack.
Kane, his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, has been England’s standout player for a decade. He is the captain and a key figure in the team that reached back-to-back European Championship finals and semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup. However, finding an effective backup is nearly impossible.
Since Kane was capped for the first time in 2015, 10 strikers have made their England debuts, from Jamie Vardy to Ivan Toney, but none have been able to replace him.
It has been difficult to find alternatives to ease the strain on Kane, who turns 33 in July, and his aging limbs.
Ollie Watkins proved to be the best option off the bench and was memorable for scoring the winning goal late on in the Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands. Despite a dip in form this season, a recent surge of seven goals in eight games may have come at the right time for his World Cup aspirations.
Marcus Rashford also plays in a back-up role, but his preferred position is on the left of the attacking line.
England’s problem is that they will have to change their style of play in the absence of Kane, who is their most lethal finisher but has the unusual role of dropping deep as a playmaker.
There are very few players like Bayern Munich striker Kane in world football, let alone in England.
He scored 56 goals in 48 games this season, leading Bayern to the German title and a place in the Champions League semi-finals. He also led England to the World Cup with a 100% qualification record without conceding a goal.
It is generally accepted that Tuchel will not find a new Kane for the June-July tournament. Rather, it’s a case of finding a suitable and effective back-up, and that’s where Welbeck comes in amid growing calls for him to be included in the squad.
“He keeps scoring goals, but it’s not just the goalscoring, it’s his hold-up play, his work rate and his experience,” England’s other great player, Wayne Rooney, recently said on a podcast. “He’s probably the best English striker in the Premier League this season.”
The statistics bear that out, with Welbeck’s latest goal coming as a substitute in Brighton’s 3-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday.
Ferdinand believes Welbeck brings the right attitude to the squad, who will be in the squad for more than six weeks if England reach the final in the joint competition between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Ferdinand described Welbeck as “someone who is really happy playing bit parts and who knows he can get 20 minutes here and there.”
Tuchel’s decision to leave Welbeck out of his latest squad last month raised eyebrows after he replaced him with Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
“For me, you have to control what you can control,” Welbeck told the BBC last month. “It’s really nice to have my name mentioned and that’s a plus for me, but I don’t like giving energy to things I can’t control.”
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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