Danny Welbeck scored with each of his five shots on target for England in 2012

Danny Welbeck scored five goals in his eleven England appearances in 2012 to become an important player for Roy Hodgson’s team.

He was winning his fifth cap when he notched his first England goal in the last warm-up fixture before Euro 2012 against Belgium at Wembley.

The Manchester United youngster, who turned 22 last month, ran onto Ashley Young’s weighted through-ball to calmly chip the ball left-footed over Mignolet and his goal gave England a winning send-off to the Finals.

At the tournament a last-ditch challenge denied him in the French opener but he scored England’s winner against Sweden at 3-2 with a classy back-heel from Theo Walcott’s cut-back.

In the autumn he gave England added spark in attack after coming on as a substitute in the World Cup Qualifier with Ukraine at Wembley, hitting a post with one instinctive shot and winning a crucial late penalty with a clever flick that was handled by Khacheridi.

A month later, with San Marino the Wembley opposition, Danny grabbed his first England brace in a straightforward 5-0 victory against one of the competition’s lesser lights.

He had already struck a post and been upended for a penalty before acrobatically turning home Aaron Lennon’s low cross to make it 2-0 on 37 minutes. He got England’s fourth in the second half, prodding home from close range after United club-mate Tom Cleverley had set up the chance. 

Welbeck again made an immediate impact as a substitute in Poland, conjuring the ball away from the ‘keeper before laying it back for Wayne Rooney to fire narrowly over the bar.

Then his fifth England strike arrived in the Sweden friendly in November as he finished from six yards after some left-wing trickery from Young..

Danny, now a major force for club and country, ended the 2011-12 season with 12 first-team goals for United that included nine in the Premier League.

Scoring for his country was obviously a special moment: “To get my first England goal in that way, I’m delighted. It is a massive honour," he said.

"Now I’m looking to build on that performance and get more games under my belt – and more goals”.

Danny Welbeck's Opta Stats

- Welbeck was England’s top scorer in 2012, netting five goals for the Three Lions.
- The Manchester United star scored with each of his five shots on target for England in 2012, including with his only one at Euro 2012.
- Welbeck was also the only England player to strike the woodwork more than once in 2012 (twice).
- No England player made more key passes than Danny Welbeck this calendar year (15), though the Manchester United man didn’t provide an international assist in 2012.
- United teammate Wayne Rooney was the only player other than Welbeck to score the winning goal on more than one occasion for England in 2012.
- Welbeck had the best pass completion rate of regular England players at Euro 2012, completing 91% of his attempted passes.

Danny Welbeck, along with Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Joe Hart and Glen Johnson are all in the hunt this year and it's up to you which star will claim the 2012 England Player of the Year award at the inaugural FA England Awards in association with Vauxhall at St. George's Park on Sunday 3 February 2013.

Place your vote in the poll below before the closing date of 13 January 2013. You can also vote for the England Men's Under-21s and Women's Senior Players of the Year, too.