Premier League fans of the 2010's are bound to be familiar with Ashely Young, as he was one of the league's most talented Youngsters at the time. The former English winger spent around 15 years in the English First-Division, most notably with Manchester United.
Ashley Young's time at Manchester United was a mixed bag, but he went on to establish himself as a great servant for the club. This article will take one step back in Young's career, when he was widely regarded as one of the most promising youngsters in the country.
Let us rewind Ashley Young's time at Aston Villa.
Villa's record signing
Ashley Young was signed by Aston Villa on 23th January 2007, as they paid an £8 million transfer fee for the Englishman. The transfer sparked quite a buzz, as it was the highest paid transfer fee by Villa at the time.
He ended up on the losing side in his Villa debut against Newcastle, but managed to make a great impression by scoring in his first game. This was also the sign of great things to come, as Young performed admirably and won several Man of the Match awards with Villa. All these led to his maiden international-call up for England as well.
A new star is born
As the 2007–08 Premier League concluded, Young racked up 17 assists by the season end. This feat was nothing short of excellent, and he was only behind Arsenal star Cesc Fàbregas in the assists chart. Along with Portsmouth's David James, Young was also included in the premier League Team of the Year. Those two were the only players that were included outside the traditional Premier League top four at the time (Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea).
Young was instrumental throughout the season for Aston Villa, as he put on several match-winning displays. One of his highlight performance of the season came in Villa's 5-1 win over Birmingham City, which saw him score 2 and set up another 2. His heroics also led to him winning the Premier League Player of the Month on two occasions that season. This feat took him to an elite list of players that won the award more than once, which included the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard.
His continued excellence for Villa even saw then manager Martin O'Neill describe the player as "world-class", and the duo later won the Premier League Player of the Month and Manager of the Month for December. History was yet again made by Young, as his December POTM award made him the first in history to achieve 3 POTM awards in a single year.
On April 6th 2009, Young topped off his outstanding golden period by winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Departure
Young continued his fine form for Villa in the seasons that followed. The 2010-11 campaign was a significant one for Young, as he became Aston Villa vice-captain and was also deployed in a new free role behind the striker. This new role allowed the player move from wing to wing and through the centre. The tactical experiment was a success, as Young finished the season with 9 goals and 14 assists in 39 appearances.
With just one year remaining in his contract and his immense quality as a player, Aston Villa were facing the risk of losing their star player. This is exactly what happened as well, with Manchester United beating the likes of Liverpool to snatch the signature of Young. A £17 million transfer fee sealed the deal for Villa to sell Young. It was the end of a magical 4 years at Villa Park.
Homecoming
Young eventually returned to Aston Villa on 2021, a decade later after his first stint. It was a memorable homecoming that gave beautiful moments for Villa fans. He played for 2 more years at Villa Park, before saying one final goodbye in 2023.
