Welbeck: I can't control noise around possible England recall

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Striker netted sixth goal of the Premier League campaign on Saturday.

Nick Szczepanik

2025-11-03T10:00+00:00

Danny Welbeck is currently joint second in the Premier League goalscoring charts for this campaign. 📷 by James Boardman.

Albion striker Danny Welbeck believes he will be ready for the challenge if he wins a recall to the England squad seven years after his previous cap for his country.

And he was pleased to receive a vote of confidence from his teammates after head coach Fabian Hurzeler had asked whether they thought he should make Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel’s next squad.

“It wasn't a big thing,” Danny said. “It was just at the start of a meeting when we went in in the morning and he [Hurzeler] just said, ‘Hands up if you think Danny can play for England.’

“Pretty much everybody's hand went up. I didn't really look. To be honest, I sit near the front so I didn't look behind me. But it's just noise at the moment and for me I just focus on what I can control.

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Danny Welbeck scores against Leeds United again, and Diego Gomez bags a brace, as Albion win 3-0 at the Amex on Saturday afternoon.

“I'm really confident in my ability that I can perform at the highest level. I'm enjoying playing here at Brighton and that's what my focus is on. The rest of it will sort itself out.”

Danny’s last England appearance came in 2018, leaving him on 42 caps and 16 goals – so far.

“I've had a lot of fond memories playing for England,” he said. “I've done it since I was 15, from the youth ages. But I've just been focusing on myself. I've had a number of set-backs in that time, so I'm just happy to be competing at the highest level. For my name to be mentioned, it's a good thing and I can only control what I can control.”

It may count in the Manchester-born forward’s favour that he can offer experience to a young squad, as he does at Albion’s Lancing headquarters.

“I think it's natural for me to help people,” he said. “I've had a really good upbringing thanks to my mum and dad. It's instilled in me to always help others around you.

“I know that when I came through at Man United, I had some incredible senior players there who helped me every step of the way. They gave me a lot of advice. It seems like it's come full circle now. I'm one of the older players, so I slip into that role seamlessly. I'm always there.”

For Danny, his mentoring role can involve setting the standards in training, getting out on the grass to give hints and tips to younger teammates or putting an arm round a shoulder when necessary.

“100 per cent,” he said. “We're all human beings. You never know what other people are going through. Luckily, we've got a number of senior members within the team, in the dressing room. There's some that are maybe a bit harder on people. I think for me, I'm kind of in between.

Premier League action at the Amex as Albion face Leeds United. Highlights in partnership with @mpbcom. Buy, sell and trade used camera gear. https://bit.ly/MPB457

“I demand a lot from everybody. But I'm also really easy to talk to, to have a little chat with. Put an arm around the shoulder and say, 'is everything all right at home, off the pitch?' Try and see if you can get the best out of him in different ways. Not just being hard on somebody. I feel like I do that pretty well.

“There's so much that comes into it. You only see the game on a Saturday. You don't see the training sessions. You don't see the moods that different players are in. I always do my best to help every single player around.

“There's a lot of talent within our squad. That's something that we're blessed with. But a lot of the time, hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard. That's something that we have to ingrain into every single member of the team. You can have the talent, but it'll only get you so far.

“You need to have that steely determination, that grit, that desire, the right mentality. Make sure that you're preparing every single day for training. There's so much more that goes into it than just the talent.”

.@DannyWelbeck's superb season continues! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/fp6m066frs
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) November 2, 2025

The talent helps, though, as Danny showed when volleying home his sixth goal in five games to give Albion the lead against Leeds United.

“It was a good play down the right from Yankuba and Mats. Mats got into a great position and I was waiting for the right opportunity to pull off and get the goal. It was nice. To be honest, that is the plan, to score every single game.

“When I get an opportunity, I'm confident in my ability to put it in the back of the net. I'm appreciative to all my teammates as well for putting the ball in the right places for me to finish off.”

But he was equally pleased with the team’s first clean sheet of the season in the Premier League. “They're quite hard to come by, so we're really happy with that today. A lot of talk will be around Bart and the defenders, but it's a real team effort that gets a clean sheet. We have to really pull together.

“I think today has shown that as a group, we were really solid defensively. Every single player on that pitch and the lads that came in off the bench, everybody was committed to keeping that clean sheet. It's something we spoke about and now we can build upon that.”