Danny Welbeck to Hull: Steve Bruce prepares audacious £14m bid for England striker as Shane Long closes on Southampton move

Long is expected to complete a £12m move to Saints in the next few days and Bruce could look to lure Welbeck to the KC Stadium as a replacement

Danny Welbeck could be the subject of a £14m bud from Hull (Getty Images)

Steve Bruce could look to replace Shane Long with an audacious bid for Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck after the England international looks to only have a bot-part role in Louis van Gaal’s squad.

Long’s £12m move to Southampton is expected to be completed sooner rather than later, meaning the Republic of Ireland international will join his third club in 2014 just eight months after arriving at the KC Stadium.

With Nikica Jelavic enjoying somewhat of a renaissance with the Tigers, Bruce is believed to want Welbeck with the promise of regular first team football. Welbeck started England opening two Group D matches at the World Cup, although his place in Roy Hodgson’s squad would come under threat should he endure a prolonged spell on the bench at Old Trafford.

It’s believed that Hull have enough money to reach an agreement with United through the sale of Long, but the tricky task would come in persuading the 23-year-old to head east and join Hull.

A £14m bid is expected to test the water and see whether the Red Devils would be tempted to cash in on a player that has been with the club since he joined their academy in 2001, having spent time out on loan with Preston North End and Sunderland during his career.

His versatility has seen him play both as a striker and on the left wing for both club and country, with Hodgson showing a preference to play in out wide rather than in attack where Daniel Sturridge appears to have the striker role locked down.

Welbeck has made 139 appearances in all competitions for United, scoring 29 times with 20 of those coming in the Premier League. Clearly one of Hodgson’s favoured players, Welbeck has won 26 caps for the Three Lions, notching eight goals along the way with a strike rate of just over one goal every three games.

With Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney set to share the striker role this season, Welbeck could find himself frozen out of the first team, although any departure of Javier Hernandez could lead to Van Gall keeping Welbeck for at least another season.