By Neil Ashton
Danny Welbeck will sign a five-year contract worth £75,000 a week at Manchester United.
The England striker, out of Wednesday’s clash with Italy through injury, will end protracted talks about his new deal.
Welbeck, 21, had been reluctant to sign another long-term contract until his salary reflected his growing status as Wayne Rooney’s regular strike partner at United.
He made 30 appearances in the Barclays Premier League last season after forcing his way ahead of his rival forwards at Old Trafford— Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez and the departed Michael Owen.
He scored nine league goals for United before he was taken to Euro 2012 by new England chief Roy Hodgson. This season, Ferguson has set a minimum target of 20 goals for Welbeck, who now has nine England caps.
His new contract, to be signed imminently, is packed with incentives based on future performance.
Meanwhile, across Manchester, City manager Roberto Mancini has given midfielder Nigel de Jong permission to talk to Serie A side Inter Milan.
Dutch international De Jong is one of the players whom Mancini is happy to move out in the transfer window to free up money on City’s wage bill for new signings.
With De Jong having just one year left on his contract at the Etihad Stadium, City will be forced to accept a cut-price fee for the 27-year-old — maybe as little as £8million.
Now Mancini has told his former club Inter that they can negotiate personal terms with De Jong.
The Dutchman played against Chelsea in Sunday’s Community Shield but will not be a first-choice pick for City this season, especially if Mancini persuades his board to pay £30m for Spain international Javi Martinez of Athletic Bilbao.
