Rumour: Danny Welbeck considering his future at Manchester United

Welbeck has found his playing time limited this season at Old Trafford

With the winds of change sure to blow through Old Trafford in the summer, Danny Welbeck has become the latest player to consider his position at the club. The English forward is reported to be disheartened at the prospect of constantly playing out of position and is unsure about his relationship with manager David Moyes.

The news that Welbeck, a lifelong United fan and a Mancunian by birth, is unhappy at the club is a sure signal of discontent within the current United squad. After earlier reports that some senior players were uncertain of Moyes’ credentials, this comes as another blow to Moyes in his hopes to salvage something from his first season in charge of the Red Devils.

The 23-year-old who currently earns around £70,000 a-week, will have two years left on his current contract in the summer. With 10 goals in his 32 appearances this season, the striker hasn’t had the greatest of seasons and finds himself third in the pecking order behind Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. And even when he has played, his role has been that of a wide man rather than his natural position of striker, which Welbeck enjoys.

Moyes’ decision to instruct Welbeck to stay behind for extra training, telling him to follow Wayne Rooney’s example didn’t go too well with the striker either.

In mid-December, the Scot said: “I’ve got to say we had a word with him about a month ago and we said that he needs to be the last off the training field. Wayne’s out there practising his finishing each day, whether it’s taking free-kicks, shooting from tight angles or bending them in, whatever it may be, Wayne’s practising. I said: ‘Danny, you need to be out there every day finishing, even if it’s 15 minutes at the end.’”

A few days later, the striker questioned Moyes’s claim: “I have been doing that ever since I have been at United. Obviously I have been injured this season so maybe the manager has not seen me on the training pitch as much.”

Things haven’t been the same ever since. Even last week Moyes attempted to discipline Welbeck, along with Tom Cleverley and Ashley Young. Following a night out in Manchester after their Champions League exit to Bayern Munich, Moyes enforced stipulations that the players were not be out late within 48 hours of the tie.

Should Welbeck decide to leave, it would be a significant blow to Moyes in his attempt to get things back on track next season. Given his wealth of title-winning experience and raw pace and ability, clubs like Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are already getting linked with signing Welbeck in the summer.

Whilst there is reason to assume that he will move, the truth is that, Welbeck is sure to weigh up his options to ensure that his playing career moves forward and isn’t bogged down at United. Should Welbeck leave, it might also spark a string of departures including the likes of Nani, Kagawa and Chicharito.