Danny Welbeck 'Agent' Jonathan Hope Labelled a Fraud After Arsenal Deal Claims

Jonathan Hope was said to be the agent behind Danny Welbeck's transfer from Manchester United to Arsenal, but the 35-year-old has been labelled a fraud by investigative national press.

Jane Hamilton and Dan Warburton of the Daily Record (survey may be required to access), reported via Steve Robson of the Mirror, have suggested that Hope had no part to play in Welbeck's deadline-day move to the Emirates. He appeared on talkSPORT and BBC Radio 5 Live hours before the market closed, with the following quotes being picked up by many publications:

"

Danny doesn't want to go on loan. He wants a straight transfer and he has every right to say that. In the last half an hour I have received some interest in a straight transfer which I'm going to speak to Manchester United about.

"

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Both Arsenal and United have now confirmed the individual wasn't involved. "We can confirm that Jonathan Hope has no connection to either Arsenal or Danny Welbeck and was not involved with the negotiations to bring Danny to the club," read a statement from the north London side, per Robson.

United also confirmed Hope "has had no dealings" with club. Hamilton and Warburton's article claims to have visited Hope at home, where he showed them text messages alleged to have been from Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy.

"We have had contact from Mr Hope in the past in his guise as an agent but have had no dealings or meetings with him whatsoever," read Spurs' response to the investigation.

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Welbeck is represented by the UK subsidiary of German-based agency Kick and Run Sports Management. Hope isn't listed on FIFA's official list of licensed agents, nor does he appear in the records of the English or Scottish Football Associations, per Robson.

Interestingly, the Daily Record reported Hope's comments on the crisis at Glasgow Rangers in 2012. He also claimed to be the party who brought Sheffield Wednesday owner Milan Mandaric in contact with a Qatari Group over the club's potential sale, as reported by Sheffield-based paper The Star. Curiously, his Twitter account has now been deleted.

Individuals posing as fake agents has become commonplace on social media in recent times, but it's rare for anyone to make waves in the national press like Hope did.

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The notorious "Duncan Jenkins" fake Twitter account managed to gain attention when Sean Cummins—the man behind the spoof—reported he had received threats from former Liverpool director of communications Jen Chang, but this didn't involve verbal interviews.

Cummins revealed all in a blog post that would eventually see Chang sacked, as reported by Matt Fortune of the Daily Mail. These are extreme examples of the often anonymous fake football agent formula that plagues social media during each transfer window.

Earlier in the year, B/R UK detailed an altogether more serious investigation into fake agents who lure aspiring footballers into paying vast sums for trials at elite clubs, only for a no-show to take place when the athlete arrives.

Both talkSPORT and the BBC have confirmed they will no longer use Hope on their broadcasts, as reported by Robson. This story appears to underline once again how easily illegitimate claims can gain traction in the modern age.