Manchester United's Ashley Young: Our take on those Aston Villa rumours

Football editor Mat Kendrick has his say on speculation linking Ashley Young with a Villa Park return

Stranger things have happened...

Ashley Young has been linked with a return to Aston Villa in some spurious chitter chatter on social media, and stranger things have indeed happened.

There was the incident when a bird pooed in Young's mouth (see the video below) during a Manchester United match - that was a stranger thing for a start.

But surely there is more chance of that same fluttery feathered foe getting the winger in the gob again then there is of Young coming back to Villa Park.

Here's several reasons why a claret and blue homecoming for Young is highly unlikely, even on loan.

1) The cash

Young is on hefty dough at Old Trafford as you might well imagine. He is contracted to United until the summer of 2018.

Even Jose Mourinho's fringe player command wages that are beyond the financial restrictions of Villa.

Okay, so Tony Xia has shown a willingness to loosen the purse-strings in order to persuade the likes of Mile Jedinak and James Chester to swap the Premier League for the Championship.

But financing a deal for Young would be an altogether pricier proposition, especially at a time when the club are watching their budget in relation to Financial Fair Play limits.

2) The kudos

It wasn't all that long ago that Young was a regular in the England squad.

If he is to leave United for a temporary stint away to kickstart his career then he will have set his sights on another Premier League club or a European rival.

With all due respect to Villa if the 31-year-old is made available for loan, he will be hoping to have top flight options among his suitors.

3) The connections

Much of the personnel, both coaching and playing, has changed from when Young was a popular figure at Villa between January 2007 and June 2011.

Only Gabby Agbonlahor, albeit a big pal of Young back in the day (see the video above), remains in the squad, while Villa have got through more managers and coaches than Young has scored United goals since then.

4) The rapport

Young was a Holte End darling under Martin O'Neill, for those curling finishes, whipped crosses and speedy bursts of close control.

The claret and blue faithful tended to turn a blind eye to those tumbles to the turf.

Some of the credit Young left with for the respectful way he handled his Villa departure was eroded when he dived to win a penalty against Villa in a 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford in April 2012.

Would Villa fans welcome a player of his ability back at the club? Yes. Would the special relationship be quite the same? I doubt it.

5) The competition

Of the areas Villa need to strengthen in January, surely there are greater priorities than the wide attacking positions.

Xia spent, in Championship terms, decent money to bring Albert Adomah from Middlesbrough in the summer, while they are not exactly struggling for other alternatives.

Top scorer Jonathan Kodjia has shown he can be effective cutting in from either flank, while Jack Grealish, Jordan Ayew and rookie Andre Green are capable options.

Steve Bruce would be better using any wiggle room in his budget to bolster his midfield and full-back departments.

More games: friv

Anthony Crolla hoping Manchester United stars see him hit new heights

Anthony Crolla's rollercoaster career dipped so low he almost quit four years ago, but on Saturday he believes it will hit new heights.

The Briton defends his WBA world lightweight title against Venezuela's Jorge Linares (40-3, 27 KOs) in front of Crolla's home fans at the Manchester Arena.

The winner will be acclaimed the division's No. 1 but four years ago Crolla (31-4-3, 13 KOs) was contemplating a change of jobs following defeats to British rivals Derry Mathews and Gary Sykes.

The 29-year-old was then left on the brink of retirement in Decemeber 2014 when he suffered a fractured skull and broken ankle after he interrupted a neighbour's house from being burgled and was attacked. Crolla had caught up with the burglars, who then hit him with a concrete slab.

"It's tough to put into words how my career has changed, it's been a right rollercoaster," Crolla told ESPN. "I've never doubted I could get to this level but it looked very unlikely at various points of my career.

"I never once thought about packing it in but when I fought Kieran Farrell in 2012 my career was on the line and there was a job waiting for me to start on the Monday morning, because it would have been hard to come back if I had lost that make or break fight.

"I've come so far in four years and I would be lying to say I thought I would be fighting the likes of Linares for the world title back then. I thought I might have to retire a couple years ago as well with injuries."

Linares has not fought for nearly a year because of a fractured right hand and was stripped of the WBC belt because of his lay-off.

Despite entering Saturday's fight as challenger, Linares is still widely regarded as the world's leading lightweight and last year stopped Londoner Kevin Mitchell.

But Crolla has been in inspired form since lifting the WBA belt and makes a second defence against Linares after two knockout wins over Darleys Perez and Ismael Barroso.

"I feel with my momentum now I can achieve anything," Crolla said. "Confidence is a great thing to be running on and I'm a happy fighter.

"You grow as a fighter and a person. I've matured later than other fighters and I've made a few tweaks in training which has helped too.

"I've changed my strength and conditioning work and do things like yoga as well, which has helped me in the ring. The general conception is that Linares is No. 1 at the weight and I see beating him will make me the main man.

"I feel better than ever right now. Arguably Linares is number one in the division, but I believe it's myself and others would argue otherwise. On Saturday we will find out who is the best."

Linares, 31, was last in action when he knocked out Ivan Cano in four rounds, but Crolla says the lay-off is irrelevant and plans to box clever against his dangerous challenger who has registered four successive stoppage wins in four different countries.

"I've watched him for years, even before I thought I might fight him, and technically he's brilliant," Crolla said. "He's had a bit of time out but he looked sharp in training in the video he put on social media so he's been working hard.

"He likes to fight at his pace and I can't allow that and I've got to be switched on from the opening bell. I can't be lazy because he's a good counter puncher.

"I have to use my brain in this fight. I've been working hard on my boxing ability and my angles because he's too good to walk in straight lines."

Crolla visited the Manchester United training ground last week and hopes some of the players will be ringside to cheer him on at the Manchester Arena after the English Premier League side's game with Leicester City earlier in the day.

"As a United fan it was very special to be able to watch them train, meet a few of the players and the manager," Crolla added. "I don't definitely know who is coming and we've got Leicester that day but hopefully Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young will be there.

"The crowd in Manchester gives me that extra gear and they will be better than ever. I just want to do them proud and give them a good night."

Manchester United stars can learn from Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Herrera

Manchester United will have variety in their attack next season because of the differing styles of players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rashford, Ander Herrera has said.

Ibrahimovic, Rashford, Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all played in the 5-2 friendly win over Galatasaray in Gothenburg on Saturday, with Ibrahimovic scoring on his debut.

Herrera told reporters: "I think the strikers can be a very good mix and combination because they all have different qualities.

"Ibrahimovic is more of a target man while Rashford can find the spaces because he is so quick. So I think it is good for the manager to have those different options.

"Ibra and Rashford are quite different in terms of qualities, but Marcus can learn a lot from him."

The midfielder said all United's players would be able to learn from working with Ibrahimovic, adding: "It is a unique opportunity and I hope to take advantage of that."

Before the match, there had been question marks over United signing the 34-year-old former Sweden captain due to the transfer's short-term nature, but Herrera said: "We have one of the best players in the world and we will have a big leader in our dressing room.

"With the experience of Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young as well, we are very optimistic about the future."

What a Club! Five Years for Ashley Young

With a picture of him grabbing the badge on his shirt, another of him sitting with Sir Alex Ferguson and the Premier League trophy, and one with Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, and the FA Cup Trophy, Ashley Young wished himself a Happy fifth Manchester United Anniversary on his twitter account.

Five years. A lot has happened in five years.

Starting out at Watford at 10 years of age and making his professional debut in 2003, Ashley Young was a huge part of the 2005-06 Watford squad that earned a promotion, and a place in United hearts, by beating Leeds United in a playoff at the Millennium Stadium. His stock continued to rise as a move to West Ham United or Aston Villa was on the cards in the summer of 2007. After meeting with both clubs, Youngy (as he’s nicknamed) decided that working with Martin O’Neill at Aston Villa was the next best step in his career. Although no trophies were won in his time at Aston Villa, Young grew into a fantastic footballer. A true winger with loads of pace caught the eye of a lot of teams, but Young’s next move was for Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United.

United were coming off the high of fulfilling Ferguson’s long time, focused goal of knocking Liverpool off their perch. Faster play with more goals was always the plan, and with Ferguson’s love for out-and-out wingers, his move for Ashley Young wasn’t too much of a surprise. Young slotted straight into the squad and made an instant impact, none greater than when Arsenal came to visit Old Trafford early in his first season. The famous 8-2 score line still finds a way into the conversations of United fans when dealing with Arsenal supporters, and Ashley Young scored two cracking goals that day. His first season brought nine goals but United fell a few goals short of claiming title #20 in his first season.

Ferguson’s retirement, after winning title #20 in Young’s second season, took each footballer by surprise and affected each in their own way. Wayne Rooney appeared to get a new lease on United life. Robin van Persie seemed to lose some of the verve for football that permeated United’s #20 title charge. But Ashley Young seemed to carry straight on into the reign of David Moyes. Privately it may have been different, but publicly it was work as usual. With a change to Louis van Gaal, the next season came big changes for Young, moving from the wing to mostly left back and defensive duties. But, as he’s done since day one, Young worked hard for the badge and continued to find a spot in the squad, even playing a striker in the weaning matches of Van Gaal’s tumultuous reign at United.

There are only a few world class footballers in the world, and Ashley Young isn’t one of them. But every top squad needs talent, skill, hard work, and players who know exactly what they bring to the table, and Ashley Young fits that completely. Young’s fifth manager since joining United five seasons ago starts soon and Youngy will, yet again, be required to prove himself. But you can be sure if he stays at Manchester United, he will continue to give all he has for the greatest club in England. As he said is his fifth-anniversary tweet, “What a club!”

Van Gaal's legacy: Big spending, dull games, accent on youth

MANCHESTER, England - (AP) -- So, after $375 million in transfers, two seasons of often mind-numbing soccer, one trophy and countless references to his "process" and "philosophy," Louis van Gaal is no longer manager of Manchester United. The English Premier League club announced his departure on Monday evening.

After David Moyes' ill-fated 10-month tenure in the 2013-14 season, post-Alex Ferguson, United needed an experienced, larger-than-life coach to bring stability to England's biggest club.

Van Gaal, just off a successful second stint with the Dutch national team and with his resume including spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, was thought to be that man. And he was handed unprecedented sums of money in the transfer market to renew the squad and allow it to compete at the top end of the English and European game.

Within two seasons, he is out -- and United look no closer to regaining its stature of old, on the field at least.

So how will Van Gaal be remembered? Certainly his brand of football won't be missed by the regulars at Old Trafford. And United's owners will be scratching their heads at where all the money went.

Yet his occasional frivolity on the touchline have shown a lighter side to the man nicknamed the "Iron Tulip," and his drip-feeding of academy players into the first team could reap its rewards in the years to come. In Anthony Martial, United could also potentially have a world star in its midst.

Here's a look at Van Gaal's legacy at United:

WHAT A WASTE

Van Gaal will forever be known as the man who oversaw an outlay of $375 million on new signings over two seasons without ostensibly improving his squad.

Expensive signings like Angel Di Maria ($99 million), Memphis Depay ($48 million), Morgan Schneiderlin ($39 million) and Bastian Schweinsteiger ($23 million) have disappointed or failed to adapt to Van Gaal's rigid system. Di Maria is a genuine world-class player who was a star at Real Madrid and has gone on to be a key player at Paris Saint-Germain. How he was wasted by Van Gaal.

Despite Van Gaal's heavy spending, he managed to leave himself an unbalanced squad lacking in strikers and creative attacking midfielders. Daley Blind has played as an emergency center back for most the season and he cannot settle on regular fullbacks.

United will have to give the new manager -- expected to be former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho -- more financial backing to reshape the squad, yet again.

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DULL FOOTBALL

United's end-of-season scoring stats make grim reading for Van Gaal. The 49 goals netted in the league is United's lowest return in Premier League history, and never previously has the team failed to score in 10 games in one campaign.

Meanwhile, United went into halftime drawing 0-0 in 24 of its games this season. And its players played more backward passes than any other team in the Premier League.

No wonder "Attack, attack, attack" was the soundtrack at most matches at Old Trafford, where fans were spoiled on a diet of entertaining football for so long under Ferguson.

Van Gaal spoke so often about his "philosophy" and he'll leave with few knowing what it actually was. On the face of it, it is a functional, risk-averse, possession-based style that was never going to be a hit at United. Mourinho, Van Gaal's expected replacement, will desperately need to inject some pace into United's midfield play.

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DID HE "GET" UNITED?

As if his style wasn't enough of a turn-off to United fans, Van Gaal hardly made them dream either.

One of his regular phrases was that United's expectations were too high, suggesting that the king of English football for two decades had better get used to leaner times in the coming years.

They were probably sentiments rooted in common sense -- the huge money sloshing around in the Premier League because of lucarive domestic and international TV deals has leveled the playing field -- but it's not the rhetoric fan or players want to be hearing from their manager.

It felt like David Moyes never got the enormity of the United job and the same accusation could sometimes be leveled at Van Gaal, despite his vast experience.

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TACTICS

Some would say his tactics were a demonstration of "total football" long favored by the Dutch. Many more likely would say they were the result of muddled thinking.

What proved to be his last match -- the FA Cup final -- provides an example. Ashley Young, a wide midfielder, came on as a second-half substitute and played as a lone striker. By the end of the match, Young was playing at left back and United also had a center forward in deep midfield (Wayne Rooney).

In one of United's most significant matches this season, against Wolfsburg in the Champions League in December, Van Gaal ended the game with two young full backs (Guillermo Varela and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson) making just their second appearances for the team, and a 21-year-old midfielder in Nick Powell whose last match for United came 18 months previously in the English League Cup. United lost 3-2 and was eliminated.

Van Gaal mostly played playmaker Juan Mata out wide, and often played two holding midfielders in home games, restricting United's attacking potential.

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YOUTH POLICY

Van Gaal's one saving grace has been his adherence to United's traditions of bringing academy graduates into the first team.

Some of them might have been forced on him because of injuries -- striker Marcus Rashford springs to mind -- but he hasn't been afraid to use young players and decided against more splurges in the transfer market in the January windows, instead keeping faith in youth often in tough times.

The club's pathway for youth remains open, and youngsters coming through will see how the likes of Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Timothy Fosu-Mensah have established themselves as regular squad members and potential stars of the future.

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A LIGHTER TOUCH

Van Gaal's turn of phrase in news conferences and TV interviews often drew sniggers and laughs, notably last month when he said that a hair-pulling incident during a United-Leicester match was only acceptable in "sex masochism."

Occasionally he has proved to be an eccentric entertainer on the touchline, too. Most famously, Van Gaal fell to the ground on purpose while remonstrating with a fourth official in the technical area during United's match against Arsenal. Lying on the ground and still holding his clipboard in his left hand, Van Gaal stared at the official in mock horror and appeared to be unhappy at an apparent dive by an Arsenal player moments earlier.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Ashley Young and other Van Gaal substitutions that baffled Manchester United fans

The Dutchman's decision to play Ashley Young as a centre forward at Tottenham was yet another strange substitution.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has made some strange substitutions during his time at Old Trafford.

And he made another at White Hart Lane on Sunday when he brought on Ashley Young at half-time and played him as a centre forward. It meant that for most of the second half, United had a winger playing up front, a No.10 playing on the right, a striker playing on the left and a wide man playing as the No.10.

Van Gaal insisted afterwards he had wanted Young, who come on for Marcus Rashford, to run in behind Tottenham's defence. But the decision didn't come off and United slipped to defeat at Tottenham for the first time since 2001.

It's not the only time Van Gaal has baffled United fans.

Ashley Young v Tottenham (April 2015)

It was 0-0 at White Hart Lane when Van Gaal decided to replace Marcus Rashford with Ashley Young. But instead of moving Anthony Martial, a striker, inside from the left wing, Young was asked to play as the centre forward. It didn't work.

United only had one shot on target - from Martial - and Tottenham ran out 3-0 winners after scoring three goals in six second-half minutes.

All three v Liverpool (March 2015)

His desire to work with a small squad and a series of injuries robbed Van Gaal of most of his options. But the one attacking player he was able to select on the bench, Memphis Depay, remained on the sidelines despite United needing three goals in the second half to progress in the Europa League.

Instead, Van Gaal brought on two full-backs and a holding midfielder. The game ended in a limp 1-1 draw and United headed out of Europe with a whimper.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah v West Brom (March 2015)

United were a goal and a man down at the Hawthorns with 10 minutes to go. But instead of turning to attacking players Marouane Fellaini or James Weir on the bench, Van Gaal decided to swap his right-back.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah came on for Matteo Darmian for the last seven minutes while Fellaini and Weir spent the rest of the afternoon in their seats. United barely created a chance in the final stages as West Brom held on comfortably.

Nick Powell v Wolfsburg (December 2015)

United needed to win in Germany to be sure of keeping their Champions League campaign alive. It was a surprise when Van Gaal named Nick Powell on the bench with the midfielder only just back from nearly a year out.

And it was an even bigger surprise when he was thrown on for Juan Mata after 69 minutes. With Wolfsburg leading 2-1 and United needing to score twice, Van Gaal left Ashley Young and Andreas Pereira on the bench in favour of introducing Powell.

But he had very little impact, United eventually lost 3-2 and crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage. A month later he was on loan at Hull.

Nick Powell was sent on loan to Hull shortly afterwards.

Marouane Fellaini v CSKA Moscow (November 2015)

With United again looking for a goal, this time against CSKA Moscow, Van Gaal replaced striker Anthony Martial with Marouane Fellaini - a change that was greeted with some boos from the fans inside Old Trafford.

Ultimately, Van Gaal got away with it as Michael Carrick, Jesse Lingard and Wayne Rooney combined to find a late goal and earn United a 1-0 win.

Adnan Januzaj v Sunderland (August 2014)

With United chasing a winner against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in Van Gaal's second game in charge, he swapped holding midfielder Darren Fletcher for Adnan Januzaj.

But instead of throwing Januzaj forward to get a goal - at a ground where he scored twice the season before - he was deployed as a holding midfielder next to Tom Cleverley.

United created next to nothing in the final 20 minutes and had to settle for a point against a team who would spend the rest of the season battling relegation.

INJURY UPDATE ON SCHWEINSTEIGER, YOUNG AND BORTHWICK-JACKSON

Louis van Gaal has told MUTV that it is too early for Bastian Schweinsteiger to start in Manchester United's massive Europa League last-16 second leg against Liverpool.

Schweinsteiger returned from a two-month injury lay-off during last week’s 2-0 first leg defeat at Anfield and, encouragingly, the Germany international enjoyed a second successful cameo appearance during Sunday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham United in the Emirates FA Cup sixth round tie at Old Trafford.

After confirming Bastian will not start on Thursday, the boss went on to state that Ashley Young and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson will not be involved in his squad to face Liverpool, despite both players returning to training from injury. Antonio Valencia is also not ready, despite featuring for the Under-21s last week.

"They are training now with us but you have to build up more than only one training session or two training sessions," he told MUTV. "For example, Young and Valencia are out for a few months so it is not so easy to come back and that you can adapt to the rhythm of this level.

"Yeah [it's too early for them]. Too early also for Schweinsteiger [to start]. He has played two times 10 or 15 minutes, maybe he can play 45 minutes or 30 minutes dependable on the situation also on the pitch. I cannot say in advance but I try to do that of course. His impact was very big in the last game versus West Ham United and he was involved in the goal, I think. But, yeah, I have to cope with the fact when they're injured, they're not back at the moment they train one training session with you."

Luke Shaw, Phil Jones, Will Keane are Wayne Rooney are still long-term absentees for United, although the latter has revealed this week that he hopes to return after the upcoming international break. 

At his press conference, the manager added: "Ashley Young has been two months away but Borthwick-Jackson is another case. He has been about three weeks away so that is different.

"For every player, it is difficult after an injury to come back in the team and I give always the example of Marcos Rojo, who was the exception because I didn't have other full-backs so I forced him to build up his capacity in the first team. 

"He struggled, as you have seen, and I have given him 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 50 minutes, 70 minutes and then, at the end, 90 minutes, but he is now very tired yet he has to play maybe tomorrow. It is not easy for someone who has been out and maybe operated, so it is also a big transition for these kind of players. 

"It is the same thing with Luke Shaw and with Wayne Rooney when he is coming back as he has already for three weeks [been in] a brace. You have to wait and see in the training sessions if he has that confidence to play a game or 20 minutes and that is difficult."

Watch the interview in full during MUTV's Match Day Preview on Friday at 17:00 GMT.

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