Manchester United will lose one of their longest-tenured players in the current squad.
According to several reports, Ashley Young will leave the club during the current transfer window. The club’s captain will departure Old Trafford to join Inter Milan. The deal could become official as soon as this Friday.
The former Aston Villa winger will sign an 18-month deal to join the Serie A giants. Inter had already expressed interest to make a move for Young earlier this month and eventually, both sides reached an agreement for the transfer of the veteran full-back. Plus, Young will be 35 years old this summer. He didn’t fit into the club’s long-term plans anymore.
Solskjaer’s words regarding Young’s departure
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke with MUTV and said he was open to Young’s departure since the club couldn’t offer him what Inter were giving him moving forward.
“Well, to be fair, I think it was for Ashley, you know,” explained Ole. “He is 35 in the summer and, if he gets a two-year contract somewhere, I think it’s up to him to take that. We weren’t ready to offer that. He’s been a good servant for the club. He’s been captain and he’s won trophies, leagues, cups, but we’ve got players coming through. So it was time now, then. When Ashley’s head and mindset was on ‘yeah, I want to try this’, why not do it now?”.
“Ashley’s mindset was that he wanted to try a new adventure and he he’s approaching 35 now. He’s done a fantastic job and he’s served this club fantastically. I think it was an opportunity for him that we had to say yes to”, the gaffer added.
Which players can be Young’s long-term replacements?
Despite Young was a serviceable player for the team over the last decade, he was quickly falling out of the manager’s pecking order. United have Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams playing at a high level of late. Plus, Diogo Dalot and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are also adept at playing as full-backs. Clearly, Young was surplus to requirements due to his advanced age.
The former England international, who joined Manchester United back in 2011, only registered 18 appearances in all competitions with The Red Devils this term. With that in mind, leaving United seems like a logical move for Young. Especially if he still wants to have a shot at representing England during the 2020 European Championships.
Throughout his career, Young made 202 starts for the club, amassing a further 59 appearances as a substitute, and has scored 19 goals.
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