{"id":22388,"date":"2026-07-28T20:31:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T20:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=22388"},"modified":"2026-07-28T20:31:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T20:31:30","slug":"rio-ferdinand-urges-chelsea-target-to-reject-move-and-join-manchester-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=22388","title":{"rendered":"Rio Ferdinand urges Chelsea target to reject move and join Manchester United"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5197252\" data-slug-id=\"2814278\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has asked striker Danny Welbeck, a Chelsea target, to return to Old Trafford, where he played for six seasons more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n<p>Welbeck, 35, has been with Brighton &#038; Hove Albion since the summer of 2020, having also had spells with Arsenal and Watford. The England international has been a solid if not spectacular performer for the Seagulls, netting 51 times in 201 games across competitions.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"template__newsletter-inline-banner-form-combo-widget\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<p><img id=\"subscribe-img\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Thanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>Welbeck is coming off successive 10-goal Premier League seasons, with his contract at the Amex running out next summer. Amid interest from the Blues, as per The Athletic football correspondent David Ornstein, Ferdinand has urged his former teammate to snub a move to Stamford Bridge and return to Old Trafford: <\/p>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Welbs\u2026. Ignore + come back home! Champions League football next season in Manchester.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Ferdinand played six seasons with Welbeck for the Old Trafford side, for whom Welbeck scored 29 times in 142 games across competitions between 2008 and 2014, winning two Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League. <\/p>\n<p>He played twice in the 2014-15 league campaign before moving to Arsenal, with whom he won two FA Cup titles and the Super Cup.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>What&#8217;s the latest on Chelsea&#8217;s pursuit of former Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck?<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sk-app-thumbnail\" alt=\"Manchester United vs Brighton &#038; Hove Albion - Emirates FA Cup Third Round - Source: Getty\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg\"\/><img class=\"lazy-img\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1279\" data-img=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg?w=190 190w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg?w=720 720w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg?w=640 640w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg?w=1045 1045w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg?w=1460 1460w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg 1920w\" alt=\"Manchester United vs Brighton &#038; Hove Albion - Emirates FA Cup Third Round - Source: Getty\" data-img-low=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/f9b50-17852216261553-1920.jpg?w=640\" bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,&lt;svg%20xmlns=%22http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%201920%201279%22&gt;&lt;\/svg&gt;\"\/><figcaption>Manchester United vs Brighton &#038; Hove Albion &#8211; Emirates FA Cup Third Round &#8211; Source: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Chelsea are reportedly in talks with Brighton &#038; Hove Albion to snap up former Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck, who&#8217;s approaching the final year of his contract with the Seagulls.<\/p>\n<p>As per football.london (via Yahoo Sport), the two clubs have initiated discussions as new Blues boss Xabi Alonso seeks a reliable option like Welbeck off the bench, who&#8217;s coming off a 14-goal campaign with Brighton last season. He scored 13 times in the Premier League, marking his most prolific campaign in the competition, where he has netted 90 times in 400 games for five different clubs.<\/p>\n<p>Welbeck didn&#8217;t hit double figures in his first 17 seasons in the Premier League before scoring 10 in 2024-25 and 13 a year later. His previous best was two nine-goal campaigns for United (2011-12 and 2013-14). With 46 goals, the Chelsea target is Brighton&#8217;s most prolific scorer in the English top flight, where he has also registered 32 assists.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\" title=\"like article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\" title=\"dislike article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Thank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img style=\"background: none;\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img style=\"background: none;\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Bhargav<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has asked striker Danny Welbeck, a Chelsea target, to return&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}