It seems like these days there is always a new young player ready to steal the headlines at Old Trafford and this week it’s the turn of Danny Welbeck.
Fresh off his heroics in Monday’s game against Spurs he, like Cleverley, Smalling, Jones and others before him, is the talk of the town.
All the more sweet is the fact that Welbeck is a United product, having been at the club from a young age.
United are known for producing young talent, from the days of Louis Rocca and the MUJAC to Sir Matt Busby’s Babes to Fergie’s Fledglings youth has been at the heart of the club and the success of young players brought through the ranks pleases those in charge no end as Brian McClair, Director of the academy, revealed today.
Speaking to the MEN, the former United striker said:
“It is great to see Danny come through to the seniors because he’s been with us since he was a baby really.
“He used to come down in the evenings and during the school holidays to the Cliff training ground to attend our Football in the Community programme.
“He’s passed all the way through the system from that early age and beginning.
“That is a great boost to all of us involved in the Academy system at the club. It is fantastic for anyone who has been involved in his development. For the coaches to be able to say they have been a part of it is excellent. We’re all very proud.
“But it hasn’t been easy. He had this Osgood-Schlatter’s disease which is a growth problem just below the knee. It held him back.
“We had to wait while his muscles caught up with his frame. There were growth spurts.
“You have to be patient. Now Danny Welbeck is the perfect Academy product in many ways because he is a local Manchester boy who has come all the way through the system.Manchester United demand good players and he is the ideal scenario.”
