Interviews

Welbeck excited about the De Zerbi era

Striker has been impressed with how our new head coach has settled in.

By Bruce Talbot • 04 October 2022

By Paul Hazlewood
Danny Welbeck was twice denied by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson in the 3-3 draw at Anfield.

Danny Welbeck is excited how Albion might develop under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi.

The Italian’s first game in charge ended in a 3-3 thriller at Liverpool and the squad are now preparing to take on Spurs at a sold-out Amex on Saturday. Welbeck has been impressed with De Zerbi so far and believes he can take the squad forward.

“It’s been very good under him so far, a very impressive start,” said Welbeck. “He’s brought in some of his own ideas already and put them to the team. He obviously wants to make his mark on how he wants us to play, and it’s been very exciting. I think with the players that we’ve got we can improve under him. Everybody is on board, I think it’s going to be a really exciting time for Brighton.”

Welbeck says the fundamentals remain the same and that we’ll continue to be a possession-based team, but there could be subtle changes in our approach.

"There’s a difference with how we might build up or use different formations, but the main aim is to score goals and create chances," added Welbeck. "That’s something we did against Liverpool, created a lot of chances and got three good goals. I think there will be plenty more goals to come.

“I got a couple of chances on Saturday that I really feel I didn’t quite get in the first few games, so there’s progression there. Sooner or later my first goal of the season will come and I look forward to sticking the ball away. I’m really excited to play under this manager and the way he wants to play hopefully means there will be a lot more opportunities to come.”

Welbeck praised Albion’s courage in coming from 3-2 down to take a deserved point from Anfield.

“We showed a lot of heart, a lot of bravery. As a team we still have that bit of disappointment because being 2-0 up we wanted to see games out. But Liverpool are a top side with quality players who can hurt you. As long as we learn from it we can take the positives and get ready for Saturday against Spurs.”