England aware of Ibra threat: Welbeck

Allied to his undoubted ability, Welbeck's freshness is one of the significant positives to his presence at this summer's finals in Poland and Ukraine.

The 21-year-old is unburdened by past failures and approaches every game with the same chilled-out attitude.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Opponents are largely irrelevant. Some are tougher to overcome than others but each challenge is met with verve, dynamism and optimism.

A little knowledge can go a long way though, and in the case of Zlatan Ibrahimovic that means a place in Welbeck's team.

"I really watch the Premier League," said Welbeck, when asked what he thought of the powerful AC Milan forward. "But on video games and consoles if you've got Ibrahimovic on your team you're not sad. We all know the qualities he's got."

Shutting down Ibrahimovic is surely the key to an England win that would leave them well placed to claim a quarter-final berth.

Danny Welbeck

Yet Roy Hodgson's team must also offer more going forward and not leave Welbeck as isolated as he was in Monday's draw with France.

Even then the young forward impressed, although his industrious display would have come as no surprise to those at Old Trafford, especially Alex Ferguson, who three years ago identified Welbeck as a possible for Fabio Capello's World Cup squad.

"The manager at United has always shown a lot of faith in me," said Welbeck. "He's always been there to go to for advice.

"He'll speak about everything. To have him looking over me is very beneficial."