Danny Welbeck Tests Forthcoming Nike Silo? - Boot Spy

Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck has been spotted testing what's believed to be Nike's forthcoming silo. Our boot-spy experts who are on high alert at this time of the year, caught the England international testing the black-out prototype boots at United's Carrington training ground.

Welbeck is the first Englishman we've seen wearing the unreleased boots. Brazilian superstar Neymar - who is tipped to become Nike's headline athlete for the new silo - became the first man to get a taste of the hotly anticipated boots last year. Now they've made their way across to European shores ahead of their expected release this summer!



It's the time of the year where prototype boots get their final rounds of testing. Nike will be making a lot of visits to some of Europe's top training grounds as they scout a new crop of players to wear the forthcoming silo. We expect them to target strikers, many of who currently wear the Mercurial or T90 silo. For Welbeck, it will be a departure from the Mercurial. There are also whispers that Wayne Rooney could be poised for a switch!

This boot has been making a lot of noise within the boot community, and understandably so - Nike last released a new silo back in 2009 with the CTR360. A close-up look of the boots reveal a heavily textured and dimpled upper. The distinctive divots wrap around the entire upper and share similarities to what you'd see on a golf ball.

From these images and others, we know the boots have an unorthodox, figure-of-eight sole plate with asymmetrically-placed, rounded studs. They also have an offset lacing system, opening up more room on the instep for striking the ball.   

It will be interesting to see where Nike position this boot and who they select to represent the silo. So far Nike have shown they aren't afraid to take big names away from the Mercurial series. We're expecting a number of T90 players including Gonzalo Higuain, Robert Lewandowski and Wayne Rooney also to be in the mix!

All eyes are on Nike as we wait for them to make their next move! Who else are you expecting to see testing the boots? Join in the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.