It is no secret that Jose Mourinho is trying to get rid of plenty of deadwood at Manchester United at the moment, and one of those players that have been forgotten about in recent times is Ashley Young. The versatile Englishman has struggled to force his way back into proceedings at Old Trafford, and it may well be time to end his time at the Theatre of Dreams.
Ashley Young representing Manchester United in 2015.
During his time at Aston Villa, Ashley Young had caught the eye of many. And after five years in the Midlands, he joined Manchester United in the summer of 2011 on a five-year contract.
Young was arguably one of the best crossers of the ball during his time at Villa and according to soccerlens.com, finished the 2007-2008 season with 14 assists to his name. Second only to Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal. Young was included in the Premier League team of the year at the end of that season.
Although Young did start his United career superbly with a Man of the Match performance against West Bromwich Albion back in 2011, his five-year span with the Red Devils hasn’t panned out the way many supporters of the Old Trafford club would have hoped.
Inconsistency is something you would normally associate with wingers and the Hertfordshire-born wide-man has been no different. He obviously has the talent to whip tantalising crosses with either foot but he has failed to deliver quality performances on a regular basis.
The United number 18 has also had his own fair share of controversy. Having a reputation of being “one of the most prolific divers in recent times”. The past three seasons have been pretty rough for the 20-time Premier League champions. The fans have had to go through periods of boring and unimaginative football at the hands of both David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal, and this hasn’t helped Ashley Young’s case.
Young managed to still be at the club to this present time thanks to his versatility, which most modern day managers seem to love. He has played at left back, right back and occasionally as a striker – if asked nicely, perhaps could have played in goal! The Dutch tactician in Louis van Gaal, in particular, seemed to have fancied this particular attribute of Young. Choosing to offer him a 3-year contract extension at the beginning of last season.
While speaking at his first news conference as a Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho hinted at wanting a ‘specialist player’ in every position. Something that Ashley Young really isn’t as he approaches the latter stages of his career.
At that time one would be forgiven to have thought the likes of Blind and Young would be gone by now. But no, they have both surprisingly stayed and while Blind has been making quite a number of appearances this season, the same cannot be said for Young, who prior to his appearance in the win over Swansea City had played just once in the Premier League so far this season.
With the likes of both Adnan Januzaj and Andreas Pereira waiting in the wings on loan at Sunderland and Granada respectively, you’d imagine Young will fall even further down the pecking order upon their return.
Young’s departure from United is sure to be a win-win situation for both the club and for the Player. As the Red Devils will be happy to cut down on their enormous wage bill. While the player himself can enjoy more first-team action and maybe force his way back into the England national side.
