'Destroying' - Gary Neville hails Brighton star after Chelsea duo were 'torn to shreds'

Former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville believes Danny Welbeck is playing at the “very top level.”

Welbeck, 34, made his 19th Premier League appearance of the season during Brighton’s 3-0 victory against Chelsea at the Amex Stadium last Saturday.

Kaoru Mitoma's sublime goal and Yankuba’s Minteh’s double stole the headlines but Welbeck’s contribution could not be under-estimated.

The ex-Manchester United and Arsenal striker was at his very best as he stretched the Chelsea rear-guard towards their own goal and also had the physical presence and guile to drop deep and link the play. He assisted Minteh for both of his goals and Welbeck now has six goals and five assists for the season.

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Brighton, who are 10th in the Premier League table, are simply a much better team when Welbeck is fit and firing and Neville was quick to spot that after the his performance against the Blues.

Neville also believes his old club United were far too hasty to sell Welbeck to Arsenal back in 2014 when Louis Van Gaal was in charge. United’s previous boss Erik ten Hag was then keen to re-sign Welbeck last summer, a move which Welbeck later described as “speculation.”

"This idea that he’s not good enough for Manchester United is absolutely rubbish,” said Neville. “He’s good enough to be in a pool of three or four strikers.

"He’s destroying defences, he’s torn [Levi] Colwill and [Trevoh] Chalobah to shreds.

"Sometimes we tag these players with ‘oh he’s not good enough’… no he is, to be part of a 20-man squad at a top club, he can still play at the very top level.

"He was let go too quickly at United,” added Neville. “Because if you think about Louis van Gaal, his style is very precise, and Danny wasn’t in his game back then so he just let him go.

"But he’s almost perfect for how Manchester United should play, threatening space in behind and playing off front players.”

Welbeck joined Brighton in 2020 on a free transfer following an injury-hit spell at Watford. He has made 148 appearances in total for Brighton, with 32 goals and 12 assists.

For Manchester United, Welbeck had 142 outings, with 29 goals and 16 assists, while at Arsenal he featured 126 times with 32 goals and 13 assists.

Welbeck is contracted with Brighton until June 2026.

For your next Albion read: Kaoru Mitoma breaks his silence after Chelsea stunner as Gary Lineker rates 'goal of the season'