Welbeck played an instrumental role as Brighton and Hove Albion claimed their first ever win at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.
The 31-year-old set up Pascal Gross' opener and was a constant menace to the Red Devils defence throughout his 90 minutes on the pitch as Graham Potter's side claimed a 2-1 victory.
Welbeck was part of the last Manchester United side to win the Premier League in the 2012/2013 season, and he struck 29 goals 142 appearances for the club after graduating from the youth to the senior side.
Welbeck has found stability at the AMEX Stadium over the last two seasons after being troubled by injuries during his time at Arsenal and Watford.
With Manchester United in the market for a new striker, Ferdinand reckons the former England international could still do a job for Erik Ten Hag's side.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand said of a potential return to Old Trafford for his old team-mate: "Danny Welbeck starts for Man United today [Sunday] in this game.
"Welbeck walked out of that tunnel and you could see, shoulders back, chest out, thinking – ‘I will terrorize these two [Martinez and Maguire]’.
"That’s how he played today, he looked like prime-time Danny Welbeck at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid 10 years ago.
"On today’s performance, no doubt. If you want a back-up striker, you wouldn’t go far wrong with Danny Welbeck.
"Say to him, ‘you’re going to play 15/20 games over the season, fill in for Cristiano’. It gives us the legs, gives us the movement – the running behind defenders like he did today and it frees up the space for the likes of Bruno [Fernandes]."
