Danny Welbeck has a £5 million release clause in his Watford contract and there is a very real chance that Southampton will trigger it, according to the Sun (20 August, page 48).
While it is all hypothetical at this stage, Hornets fans could stay awake all night, tossing, turning and wondering whether they would still be a Premier League team had their England international striker avoided another injury-ravaged year.
Welbeck was restricted to just eight starts during his debut campaign at Vicarage Road.
But the former Arsenal and Manchester United ace still produced the odd moment of sheer class to suggest that, if he had stayed fit, Watford might just have clung onto their top-flight status.
In fact, Welbeck was so impressive in the final few weeks of 2020/21 that, according to the Sun, Southampton are willing to take a punt on a 29-year-old who has started just 36 Premier League games since the start of the 2015/16 season.
The Saints are interested in triggering the £5 million release clause in his contract, perhaps seeing the 16-goal England international as the man to ease the burden on Danny Ings at St Mary’s.
Che Adams, who enjoyed an impressive end to the season himself, might have something to say about that however.
Welbeck scored one of the goals of the season in July with an overhead kick against Norwich, a stunning strike reminiscent of his former Old Trafford team-mate Wayne Rooney, before running Arsenal’s defence ragged on the final day.
If he can stay fit, and that is a rather sizeable ‘if’, Welbeck could be one of the bargains of the summer at £5 million.
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