In-demand Aston Villa star Ashley Young admits he wants to play "at the highest level" as he prepares to discuss his future with Villa chairman Randy Lerner. Manchester United and Liverpool are both thought to be leading the chase for the England international. ------------------------------- If Fergie really wants him, there should be no real bother from the red side of mersey, and this confirms it: "I want to test myself at World Cups, European Championships and the Champions League. As a kid you always want to play in the best competitions. As a kid I wanted to play in the Champions League - and hopefully one day I will." Link So if Villa are willing to sell at a respectable price, i'd say we've a new Winger on the horizon.
I think our piority is CM, although Young would be a good addition to the Squad, he is not better than Valencia and Nani, unless Fergie will put Young at CM.
We still need options and Young is versatile... Valencia was out for how long last season? Young could have stepped in... And also I don't see Nani staying at United for any longer than two more years personally... Just the vibe I get off of Nani. Young is a player who loves crossing the ball, and is very good at it. I'd expect him to improve at United with better players surrounding him, and if he joins us he will be much more likely to nail down an England place - which will only do him good. I'll only be dissapointed if this is Fergie's only midfield signing this summer.
Why is SAF looking for wingers? I'd have thought you were pretty much set as it is with Valencia, Nani and Park. Where would Young play? I'd have thought central midfield would be your priority, think you're pretty solid elsewhere.
Young would be the most versatile of all 4... 3 wide men isn't enough... If we want to be the best we need better levels of competition in my opinion. But I'm holding my breath that this isn't our only midfield signing this summer - And that Young isn't going to be Fergie's Centre mid "solution" Valencia was out for a decent period last season... I would rather have had Young waiting in the wings than Obertan. And like I said on the other thread, Nani isn't going to be here for many more seasons - I'm almost certain of that. Two seasons max. Young, at around £15 million, would be a relatively cheap purchase all things considered. In my opinion we need competition for places - 3 wide men isn't enough for me. This would put Chica, Nani, Valencia and Park all on their toes. Young has the ability to even play second striker to Rooney. Provided this is 'one half' of this summer's midfield transfers for us i'm happy. If This is it - i'm worried.... I seem to be in the minority as someone who thinks Young has what it takes... But I really do.
Don't rate him and as Red said, we shouldn't be looking at wingers. An overpriced English winger won't make the slightest bit of difference against Barcelona. As for central midfield, I think SAF is too stubborn to admit it needs rebuilding from scratch.
Not all that solid - when we lost Valencia and Park back in Jan was when we went on our worst run of form this season. We were without both of them for the losses to Wolves, Liverpool and Chelsea and had to put either Fletcher or Giggs on the wing. So I assume if we go for Young or Nasri it's to give us a player who can provide more cover on the wings, as well as potentially cover for Rooney as second striker, or possibly even play second striker behind Rooney when we need to play more defensively in Europe.
I personally like Young and his record in terms of assists is very good. He averages about 8 or 9 a season, at a team who are not at United's level and don't have the finishers we possess. Compare that to Nasri who has only accumulated 7 since arriving at Arsenal. I think, with more quality crosses coming in, Chicharito would benefit greatly.
Agree merry. As I mentioned on a previous thread, when Yorke signed all those years ago for what around £12 million (?), I was in two minds and yet he scored loads of goals, worked great with Cole and helped us secure the treble. I believe the lad if he signs can raise his game.
Particularly given how well he crosses the ball from the left - we don't really have anyone capable of consistently beating full backs and swinging in crosses from the left. Giggs can cross it but can't consistently beat his man anymore, Nani beats his man but doesn't always deliver a great cross, and Park does both but not to a particularly high level. Young could well turn out to be the equivalent of Valencia on the left, with Nani and Park playing both positions depending on what style of winger we need for each game.
Interesting article about that here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/featur...ton:-more-trouble-than-they-are-worth?cc=5739 Could selling Nani (possibly in a swap deal for Sneijder) be the latest example of SAF ditching a player when their ego has become too big for the team?
I wouldn't mind that happening to be honest, though I don't know how exactly it would all fit together.... Not so sure Sneijder will come too. It's weird, he's flirted with the idea of joining us apparently, and has even said "Mourinho is definately going to Manage United one day" He gets on very, very well with Jose... so, if anything, that's when he may come. But as always with these players it's all "he said, she said" He's got one more big move in him... And he's already said he wont be going near Real again.. That doesn't leave too many teams. So we'll see As far as Nani's concerned - It's inevitable he's gonna leave within a couple of years... So if we could use him to bring in a high class player i'm all for it.
What indications tell you that he will leave? He's had his best season at United, so why would he leave? If he does leave what club will he leave too apart from Madrid and Barca?
we need a replacement for vds. jones looks set in stone. the persistent rumours regarding young make me think this is inevitable. fergie has said we'll be signing 2 or 3 players. does this mean we'll go another season without signing a top class central midfielder?
Please.. You honestly think Nani's gonna be here for ever? It's not hard to tell... just look at the guy.. His ego is growing day by day. He's a "me me me" player. That was clear before I'd even read his interviews. And he, like other foreign players, has nothing to owe to United. England is rarely the first choice destination for European/ South American footballers. And I didn't say this summer. I said two more seasons max. He's going to want to spend some of his "peak years" somewhere else. Could quite easily be Inter. He has no chance of going to Barca.
