Manchester United\u2019s summer thinking over striker recruitment has not shifted simply because Danny Welbeck is now expected to move elsewhere. The Brighton & Hove Albion forward, whose recent form has been his best yet, is in the early stages of a deal to join Chelsea, with \u201coptimism\u201d growing at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
Welbeck scored 13 Premier League goals in 2025-26, the most productive season of his career and an improvement on the 10 he managed in 2024-25. That resurgence has revived old interest, but United are not preparing a late move to intervene. The Athletic says the club got \u201cquite far in the process\u201d last summer after exploring the idea in 2024, yet this time there is \u201cno indication\u201d of a return.<\/p>\n
That stance comes even though United are still looking for a striker to \u201cshare the load\u201d with Benjamin \u0160e\u0161ko. The 23-year-old enjoyed a promising first season, scoring 11 Premier League goals in 30 appearances, including nine in a 14-match burst after the turn of the year. His campaign was interrupted by a knee issue in November and December before a shin injury brought it to a premature close, and he has spent the summer on individual training to build himself up physically.<\/p>\n
\u0160e\u0161ko is the only natural No. 9 in the senior squad, although Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha both filled that role last season. Cunha also started as Brazil\u2019s striker at the World Cup group stage and scored three goals. Marcus Rashford is another possible option, depending on whether he remains at the club beyond the Sept. 1 deadline.<\/p>\n
United may yet decide that current cover is enough, especially if other priorities take precedence. A central midfielder, a left back and a left winger are still needed, and Rashford\u2019s future could also affect the latter position.<\/p>\n
If a striker is signed, it is expected to be a specific type of addition rather than an elite headline name. With more matches ahead in 2026-27, United are not chasing a Harry Kane level signing, but a player who can support \u0160e\u0161ko and add competition. Jean-Philippe Mateta and Du\u0161an Vlahovi\u0107 have both been mentioned in that broader context.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
United are not expected to pursue Danny Welbeck, with striker planning still centred on Benjamin \u0160e\u0161ko.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1796],"tags":[317],"class_list":["post-18098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-united-transfer-news","tag-benjamin-sesko"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}