Brighton have tied down the two most experienced players left in their squad to new contracts with Danny Welbeck and James Milner signing deals to remain at the Amex.
Dat Guy has put pen to paper on a two year extension through to 2026. Welbeck staying does not comes as a surprise.
He has proven himself the ideal striker in Roberto De Zerbi’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation with his ability to hold the ball, link play and bring others in.
More of a shock is Milner being retained as a player. He has not played since January when limping off with only 20 minutes played of the trip to Luton Town. The Albion famously trailed 2-0 for 17 of those 20 minutes.
Such a long injury absence at the age of 28 led many Brighton supporters to conclude Milner would either be released when his one-year contract expired or retire to take up a coaching role.
Instead, he gets another season taking past his 39th birthday. If Milner can stay fit and remain a first team regular in 2024-25, there is every chance he could rack up the 20 games needed to surpass Gareth Barry and become the Premier League’s record appearance maker.
Milner has undoubtedly been kept on for the experience and leadership he brings to a young Brighton squad more than anything.
It would be interesting to know whether how much Adam Lallana’s decision to leave Brighton impacted on the club offering Milner a new contract.
Would there have been such a pressing need to retain Milner if Lallana had stayed as one of the senior professionals?
Milner looked a shrewd acquisition from Liverpool last summer for his versatility. Capable of playing right back, left back, in the middle of the park or out wide, he offered cover in multiple positions which the Albion desperately needed ahead of their debut European campaign.
In reality though, he has struggled playing as a full back in DeZerbiBall with the demand to offer as much going forward as defensively.
Milner’s best games for Brighton have come in midfield. If he is going to break Barry’s appearance record, hopefully it will be as a midfielder with the Albion investing in at least one right back this summer and possibly an additional left back.
The need for Brighton to sign forward reinforcements is less pressing with another two years of Welbeck now confirmed.
He has scored 25 goals in 123 appearances for the Albion since arriving from Watford on a free transfer in October 2020.
Had he not been blighted by injury a decade ago, Dat Guy would probably still be at one of the European Super League Elite Six rather than Brighton.
Welbeck has the ability to do things no other Albion forward can. Not only does that help Brighton here and now, but young forwards like Evan Ferguson and Mark O’Mahony benefit from working with Dat Guy every day in training.
Best of all though is that we get another two seasons of top drawer social media content from Welbeck, like his post featuring Tariq Lamptey at the 2022 Albion awards night.
Good report at parents evening. Happy meal on the way home for my liccle one @TariqLamptey 🤣 🍔🍟 pic.twitter.com/fXRgeUGhBI
— Danny Welbeck (@DannyWelbeck) May 10, 2022
Should Welbeck see out his new two season deal, it would mean his six years with Brighton ties the length of time he spent at Manchester United between his Red Devils debut and his departure for Arsenal.
And needs just eight goals for the Albion to be the team he has scored the most for in his career, surpassing the 32 he managed for the Gunners .
