As a ghost of England past, Danny Welbeck would have enjoyed returning to the spotlight at the expense of international football's new pin-up boy, Jack Grealish.
Welbeck scored his first Brighton goal — after a brilliant dash from the halfway line — to help his team record their first ever victory at Villa Park. Meanwhile Grealish, the man compared to Paul Gascoigne, could not make a difference.
It was the ideal way for Welbeck to mark his 30th birthday this week and a reminder he was once the golden boy breaking into the Manchester United and England teams a decade ago.