Welbeck - How I grew up at Sunderland

Danny Welbeck says his spell at Sunderland helped him to grow up - both on and off the pitch.

The forward spent a season on loan at the Stadium of Light in 2010/11, where his encouraging performances led to a first England cap in March 2011.

Welbeck scored six goals on Wearside, and has described his time there as “a great experience”.

 

“Yeah, Sunderland was a great year for me,” he told the matchday programme. “It was a good experience, a learning curve and a pivotal point in my career because it was the first time I went out on loan in the Premier League.

 

“Of course there are new surroundings too - you move out and live on your own. I was living in Newcastle and the training ground was about 15 minutes away but I had to learn to cook and clean for myself.

“Before that I was living with my mum and my family, so it was a big learning curve for me and it was a great year and a great experience.

“[Manager] Steve Bruce was great for me. He gave me the opportunity to play in the Premier League and I think we had a number of good results in that season.

“I made a lot of appearances and he really kept faith in me for the whole season. That was something that I appreciate a lot.”