- Manchester United interim manager reveals what former players still talk to him
- Player could be a good, cheap option for a backup striker
- Englishman currently having the best season of his career
Michael Carrick has revealed which former teammate still messages him, with the veteran English striker emerging as a genuinely cheap backup option for Manchester United behind Benjamin Sesko.
Since taking the reins at the club, United have looked revitalised under Carrick. Whilst it seemed like things were slowly coming together under Ruben Amorim, there were several frustrating moments in his final weeks at the club, especially when the Portuguese coach overlooked academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo and left him out of the starting XI.
Under Carrick, however, we have seen the squad grow and come together during his three-and-a-half-month stint at the Red Devils, and he now edges closer to securing the full-time role ahead of the 2026/27 campaign. And whilst he may not be actively looking for players, a name may have just entered the running for the Red Devils.
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Carrick ‘Still Messages Welbeck’
When asked about which former Manchester United players Michael Carrick still keeps in touch with, the English coach said, “Danny Welbeck still messages me now and again.”
Since his departure in the summer of 2014 to rivals Arsenal, Welbeck has aged like a fine wine, steadily improving across the past 12 years.
Now 35, Welbeck is currently enjoying the most prolific scoring season of his career, netting 14 goals across 36 games—his highest return in a single campaign, surpassing his 2011/12 season at United when he scored 12.
It is also his best season in the Premier League. Thirteen goals across 33 league appearances see him surpass last season’s tally of 10, and he currently sits joint fifth in the Golden Boot race.
His 13 league goals rank as the third-highest total by an English player across Europe’s top five leagues.
Harry Kane, of course, occupies the top spot. The talismanic striker has scored 33 times for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, helping secure his second consecutive title.
It has sparked debate over whether Welbeck should make the World Cup squad, with the striker currently in the form of his life for Brighton and Hove Albion.
Is Welbeck an Ideal Sesko Backup?
It would mark a full-circle moment for Welbeck if he returned home. If anything, United should reconsider their academy graduate striker, given how consistently he performs against them.
Since leaving the Red Devils, Welbeck has played 19 games against United, scoring eight times and assisting once.
Across the last seven meetings between the two sides, Welbeck has found the net on three occasions. It returns to a long-standing argument that Manchester United should never have sold him.
In the 12 years since his departure, United have often cried out for a forward capable of reliably delivering at least 10 goals a season.
Had he remained at the club, his ceiling may well have risen even higher. United have not had a player score 20+ Premier League goals in a season since 2012/13, when Robin van Persie struck 26 times as United lifted their 20th league title.
There is now a genuine case for United to bring Welbeck back for the final years of his career, with the club having already seriously considered such a move in the summers of 2024 and 2025.
Read: Why Manchester United Should Never Have Sold Danny Welbeck
