What Danny Welbeck must consider over Man Utd transfer in January amid Benjamin Sesko injury

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Former Arsenal forward Paul Dickov believes Danny Welbeck should consider staying at Brighton and snubbing a return to Manchester United .

Welbeck, 34, has been linked with a surprise move back to Old Trafford after an impressive start to the season. Indeed, the England international has scored six goals in 11 top-flight appearances this term.

He is the highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League , with Burnley's Jaidon Anthony second on four and a number of players, including Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and West Ham's Jarrod Bowen , on three.

Welbeck's form has seen speculation increase that he could be poised for a shock return to the England squad for next summer's World Cup, with Thomas Tuchel not having an obvious deputy for Harry Kane .

As well as that, Welbeck has been tipped to re-join United in the January transfer window , almost 12 years since he left the Reds to sign for Arsenal in a £16million transfer. The ex-Watford man came through the youth system at Carrington and scored 29 times in 142 matches for his boyhood club before joining the Gunners.

But with Benjamin Sesko suffering a knee injury in United's 2-2 draw at Tottenham before the international break, the Reds could dip into the market for another No.9 in January - and Welbeck's name has been mentioned as a potential target. However, Dickov doesn't think Welbeck should rush back to United.

Speaking to Best Betting Bonuses , former Manchester City and Leicester ace Dickov said: "It would be a big shout, actually, wouldn't it? Danny's been excellent. He seems to get better as he gets older. I think he's the highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League this season.

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"Danny's obviously a Manchester boy, came through the academy. But it'll be interesting to see what United do and for how long Sesko is actually out for.

"Because they spent big on him. He was the one that they wanted in the summer. But with strikers, and I know that myself, we're very selfish.

"Any striker joining United in the winter will know that Sesko will be coming back, and almost certainly play ahead of him. Are United going to go and spend big and get a centre-forward that's going to come in and then have two centre-forwards that have got a big price tag? Is one going to sit on the bench?

"Especially in the January market, it's really difficult to go out there and get the players that you want. Then I know with Danny Welbeck, if United come in, it’s not even certain he will want to leave Brighton or if Brighton would let him leave.

"At the back of his mind, he's going to be thinking ‘How many games am I going to play?’ Because when Sesko comes back, he's probably going to be the main No. 9 that they've got in their squad. So it's a really difficult one for him."

Welbeck has a solid record while playing for England, netting 16 goals in 42 caps. However, he hasn't made an appearance for the Three Lions since 2018, when he was at Arsenal.

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