Danny Welbeck’s contract expires at the end of June, and bar any late and unexpected offer from Arsenal, the striker will be leaving the club for free this summer.

Having joined from Manchester United for £16m in 2014, the England international has impressed at times, but has also endured three serious injuries during his spell in North London.

An initial diagnosis of bone bruising didn’t see that serious at first, but eventually required surgery and saw him miss 9 months of football.

Shortly after coming back from that he suffered a torn meniscus away to Man City which saw him sidelined for another 9 months, and last November he broke ankle in a Europa League clash with Sporting which has seen him miss the remainder of this campaign with a return before the end of the season very unlikely despite a recent return to contact training.

With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette ahead of him in the striking roles, you can understand why he might – at 28 – decide to go somewhere with a better chance of regular first team football, and reports suggest that he’s a target for Newcastle United.

There were suggestions that the Magpies were considering a move for him during the last transfer window when he would have commanded a fee, and if their interest is rekindled it could be a decent destination for him and a solid addition to Rafa Benitez’s squad.

Welbeck spent a season on loan at North-East rivals Sunderland when still a United player, scoring six goals in 29 appearances in the 2010-11 campaign.

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