England striker Danny Welbeck has signed a new four-year contract with Manchester United.

The 21-year-old Welbeck has been at United since he was eight, and has scored 17 goals in 64 appearances since making his first-team debut four years ago.

Manager Alex Ferguson says Welbeck “has made fantastic progress in the last couple of years … he has become an important player at international level as well, as the maturity of his performances at the European Championships showed.”

Welbeck faces increasing competition for a spot in the United team since Robin van Persie joined last week, although he started in favor of the former Arsenal forward in Monday’s 1-0 loss at Everton in the opening match of the season.