Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler says he wouldn’t swap in-form Danny Welbeck for any player in the world.
The 34-year-old has continued to impress with his performances this season, scoring six goals in 10 Premier League games so far.
Welbeck’s performances have seen the former Manchester United and Arsenal striker catch the eye of England boss Thomas Tuchel, as Sky Sports News understands Welbeck is under consideration for a national team recall.
Brighton play Crystal Palace next in the Premier League and when asked if he would swap Welbeck for Eagles striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has also scored six goals in the league, Hurzeler said:
“I don’t think I would swap Danny for any player in the world, because of course the media always try to reward him for the goals, and that’s in the end very important, but I try to judge him by his personality.
“How important he is for us as a player, as a person. I always try to emphasise he’s a great connector, outside of the pitch, he’s a great leader, outside the pitch, he’s a great role model. So that’s why we’re playing this, that he’s here, and I think he’s in outstanding shape.”
Welbeck won the last of his 42 England caps in 2018 and Hurzeler, along with the rest of the Brighton squad, are backing the striker for a return after an internal show of hands as to whether he should be called up.
“I think it’s very important to have exchanges with each other, to build relationships, and therefore we always try to start with the things that are ongoing in the media.
“For sure, it’s at the moment a topic with Danny Welbeck, so therefore we just talked about this briefly and everyone had the same opinion.
“It was a nice discussion, but it’s not something we can influence now. We can only influence to have Danny Welbeck, who will support the best way he can, and I think he’s doing it at the moment, and then we have to see what decisionThomas will make.”
Asked whether there was a show of hands from the squad, Hurzeler added: “Yeah, that’s similar to that, yeah.
“And every hand went up? I think every hand went up.”