Brighton's player of the season: Danny Welbeck – the club's record Premier League scorer

New York Times

2 days ago

The selection of Jan Paul van Hecke as Brighton & Hove Albion's player of the season in the official vote maintained a pattern during the club's Premier League era of defenders or midfielders landing the prize.
The Dutch centre-back has added his name to a list that includes Pascal Gross (2023-24), Moises Caicedo (2022-23), Marc Cucurella (2021-22) and Ben White (2020-21).
There is no suggestion that Van Hecke will extend another theme this summer — winners of the award immediately leaving the club. Gross (Borussia Dortmund), Caicedo (Chelsea), Cucurella (Chelsea) and White (Arsenal) all moved on.
Jan Paul van Hecke. What a guy. 💙🤍 pic.twitter.com/1OyudVWzZi
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) May 8, 2025
Danny Welbeck is also expected to stay put. There is a good case that Welbeck, in the autumn of his career, deserved to be the winner from a shortlist that also included young player of the season Carlos Baleba.
Welbeck was never prolific for Manchester United, Arsenal or England, but his value to those teams went beyond his goal tally. At age 34, he is better than he has ever been.
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A 4-2 defeat at Brentford in April overshadowed two telling landmarks reached by Welbeck when he equalised with a header just before half-time. His ninth goal in the Premier League and 13th Premier League goal involvement (also four assists) equalled his best tallies in those categories in 17 seasons performing in the top tier. (He scored nine goals twice for United, his boyhood club, in 2011-12 and 2013-14.)
Welbeck went on to reach 10 goals for the first time with a penalty in the 2-0 win at Wolves in May.
It was also a season in which he became Brighton's record Premier League scorer, overtaking Gross with his 31st goal for the club in the top flight in a 2-1 defeat at rivals Crystal Palace in April.
His 33 goals overall comprise 15 with his right foot, seven with his left and 11 headers, which highlights his all-round capabilities.
He has scored inside the box, outside the box and, for the first time in his senior career, directly from a free kick (in a 2-2 home draw against Nottingham Forest in September).
But Welbeck's game is about much more than the only currency that tends to provoke judgement of a striker. The way he led the line and linked the play was reassuring for head coach Fabian Hurzeler in a first season beset by the irregular availability of so much of the squad.
Absences through injury have been an irritating constant throughout Welbeck's career. He missed the last match of the season at Tottenham on Sunday, but he still made 24 league starts. That was more than Joao Pedro (23) and Georginio Rutter (19).
Hurzeler relied heavily on Welbeck after Rutter sustained ankle damage in the FA Cup quarter-final exit at home to Nottingham Forest, even more so for four of the last five games following a red card suspension for Joao Pedro in the Brentford match, and then the Brazilian's omission from the squad for the final two fixtures on disciplinary grounds after an altercation in training with Van Hecke.
'If you work hard and always try to give your best for the club, on the pitch and off the pitch, then you deserve it,' said Hurzeler, speaking after Welbeck went past Gross' goals tally against Palace. That sums up Welbeck.
As well as his talents and enduring appetite on the field, he is a hugely respected figure in the dressing room. He is not loud but, when he speaks, team-mates listen.
'He's the best example,' Van Hecke told The Athletic after a 2-1 home win against Fulham in March. 'Why we are doing well is because of people like him, if you see him on the pitch.
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'Even when he's not playing, he gives everyone confidence and he's a real leader in his voice and also how he acts. He's an example for me and other guys. If you see each other on the pitch and have a feeling, 'We're going to win' it helps us a lot.'
Van Hecke, who turns 25 in June, is a popular figure too, having picked up the players' players of the season award as well as the main prize. Together with 21-year-old Cameroon prospect Baleba in central midfield, Welbeck completed a spine that Hurzeler was consistently able to rely upon.
Welbeck has another season left on his Brighton contract, while the club also has an option to retain his services for a further year. His influence is set to continue under Hurzeler. 'I know the value Danny Welbeck has for us and the value is crucial,' said Hurzeler before a 2-2 draw at Manchester City in March.
'It's not only the value he adds on the pitch by making assists, by scoring, by helping the team, by his work ethic, it's also the behaviour beside the pitch, how helpful he is to build this connection in a team, to build the social bond between the individual players. He's crucial for me and the whole club.'