Interviews

Undav: I looked up to Welbeck

New arrival grew up watching former United striker.

By Charlie Hanson • 28 June 2022

By James Boardman
Deniz Undav trained with Albion for the first time on Monday.

Deniz Undav says he can’t wait for the opportunity to play alongside Danny Welbeck, having grown up watching the England international in action.

Welbeck started his career with Manchester United where he won the Premier League and League Cup, before joining Arsenal in 2014, where he also won the FA Cup.

“When I was young, 14, 15, 16, he played for United and I was a big fan of his,” Undav said. “That’s why for me he is a legend, I looked up to him. Now I get the chance to play with him.”

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Meet Deniz Undav!

“Welbeck is not the same player as me, but [Neal] Maupay has a similar style.”

The 25-year-old German will be hoping he can recreate his goalscoring form in an Albion shirt, having netted 26 times for Royale Union Saint-Gilloise last season. His impressive tally secured him the Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year award.

“It was a really good year for Union, but a hard one as well. We finished second, but we were first from October pretty much all the way through, so to finish second was tough.

“I finished the year with 26 goals and 13 assists. I was happy, I had a really good season.

“I am really confident that I can adapt to the Premier League, but I don’t think I will score 26 goals, because it’s a lot harder to score in England. 

“I will not say a number of goals I want to get to, because people will ask me about it for the whole season! I just try to score, maybe not 26, maybe a few less!”