But the flaws in his game are obvious. I'm sure Rooney was able to comfortably remain on his feet than receiving the ball. All we have of Welbeck is hope. He "might" turn out to be as good as RVP. But what actual evidence is there?
I don't get what people see in him other than where he comes from. He fails to do the basic so often and people just ignore it on the basis that it's somehow anti-United or sacrilegious not to hold the belief that every single player who we bring through will be awesome. I don't know how a player who is 23/24 and had as much first team experience as he's had gets so many excuses made for him when he evidently lacks so much. I've said before he'd probably make a very good player for most top-flight teams but for our ambitions he won't/can't be any more than a squad player.
He's in the same age bracket of Jones, Rafael, De Gea, Smalling and a not that much younger than Kagawa, and Mata. Now of course not all of those players have made it, but most have. De Gea is already top class. Rafael has been our first choice full-back for ages for a reason. Kagawa and Mata's past/transfer values speak for themselves.
Surely these are who we should judge players against? The only reason why Welbeck and Cleverley have staunch defenders among the fans is precisely because of their background, rather than people judging them unfairly because of it. We're a club with a tradition of bringing through talent, why would anyone have an issue with that? But a time comes when you have to be honest and have something more substantial than the hope he might suddenly one day in his mid or late 20s become exceptional. There needs to be more than that and there needs to be a fairness on judging players regardless of background.
If you look at many in the squad of similar age or younger, he's miles behind most in terms of his personal development.
