Feature: Lease Of Life

A good loan can be the making of a player, as Jonny Evans, Danny Welbeck and supporters from the Stadium of Light to Old Trafford can attest.

The United duo each spent a year with Sunderland, aged 19, and can thank Saturday's opponents for providing the schooling during a key period in their burgeoning careers.

Evans spent two six-month stints with the Black Cats under Roy Keane, initially joining for the latter half of the Wearsiders’ 2006/07 breathless promotion push and then repeating the feat a year later in the top flight. Welbeck spent the entire 2010/11 campaign under Steve Bruce.

Since returning to Old Trafford, the youngsters have established themselves as fixtures in Sir Alex Ferguson's senior squad, utilising all the experiences and battle scars of their time with Sunderland.

"The environment that Sir Alex Ferguson sent Jonny and Danny into with the people who were at Sunderland was a perfect type of nesting ground for them to flourish," says ex-United defender Michael Clegg, now strength and conditioning coach at the Stadium of Light.

"I can put my hand on my heart and say that Jonny gave everybody that bit of confidence we needed at the time,” recalls Clegg. “The team kicked on and I'd say he could have been captain just for what he brought to the place. We had a run of around 20 games where we lost just once and Jonny was a massive part of that.

"As a young lad coming into a situation which was new to him, he stood out a mile as somebody who could kick on to bigger and better things. I think it helped at the time that Danny Simpson was there with him and he had somebody to bounce off and bond with. He did really, really well and the season went from bad to good to great. The team had great work ethic. They worked hard, got stuck in and there was a great bond between the lads and it culminated in us getting promoted.”

Having prominently assisted Sunderland’s ascent, it was only fitting that Evans – struggling to dislodge Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand from the United backline – would return in January 2008 to fight instant demotion. Keane’s side had mustered four victories from 21 league outings, but garnered six wins from Evans’ 15 appearances to ensure safety with two games to spare. The Irishman’s successor, Bruce, signed Fraizer Campbell on a permanent basis in the summer of 2009, then returned to snare Welbeck for the duration of the 2010/11 campaign.

Whereas Evans arrived at the Stadium of Light without a taste of senior domestic football, Welbeck had a comparative bounty: 24 appearances and five goals spread across all three domestic competitions and the Champions League.

“When Danny came to Sunderland, he knew – just as we did - that he was going to get to the top, just because of the way he was,” says Clegg. “He was very enthusiastic. You'd want 11 Danny Welbecks knocking around the place because of what he brought, especially with his personality. He's a really happy lad, somebody you want to have around.”

For all Welbeck’s infectious enthusiasm, his start to life at the Stadium of Light was hindered by a troublesome knee injury. While Evans’ influence had been instant, Welbeck took time to make waves on Wearside. Although the Longsight striker’s development as a player unfolded for the world to see, just as glaring was his physical evolution. A leggy colt when he left Old Trafford, Welbeck was on the road to becoming a thoroughbred athlete by the time of his return. Harder, fitter, faster, stronger.

“That comes naturally with playing games,” says Clegg. “I think it's a case of getting the right balance of regularly playing games at a high level, preparing your body with core work, gym work, strength work and the right regeneration, and then you've got to get your body ready for the next game. When you do that it makes you become a man. At reserve team level you're not sure if you're playing or not - and if you do then it's usually against kids and you’re playing below yourself - but when you realise that you're under lights, in front of cameras and playing every week, it makes you grow up quickly.”

Both Welbeck and Evans recognise the importance of their stints at the Stadium of Light. “I came back a man,” the striker has admitted on more than one occasion, while his defensive cohort has conceded: “Playing Premier League games was tremendous for me. In my second or third game (in the second loan spell), against Spurs, I was absolutely tortured by Dimitar Berbatov. I loved it. I really enjoyed it. It is a lesson you can't learn unless you are playing."

The role of Sunderland in the pair's progression is unquestioned, and gratitude is mutual between the two parties. “For a squad like us, to get these young lads who want to kick on and push, who believe that they're better than Sunderland, in a good way, it just gives everyone else a lift,” says Clegg.

“With Jonny, Danny - and Danny Rose, who is on loan from Tottenham at the moment - none of them saw Sunderland as the pinnacle of their career. That really pushes themselves to kick on and inspires the people around them. The qualities they brought to the club were different class and it’s no surprise to us to see how far they’ve gone. Nobody doubted that they would kick on; it was their destiny.”

This article first appeared in United Review, the official matchday programme.