Aston Villa are on the brink of confirming another signing for Steven Gerrard. Villa have agreed on an extension with veteran defender Ashley Young which would keep him at the club till the summer of 2023. As per Birmingham Live, Steven Gerrard has himself demanded that the club extend Young. The 36-year-old joined the Villans last summer on a free transfer from Inter Milan.
Young will be Villa’s fifth signing of the summer after the club had earlier released him. Philippe Coutinho, Boubacar Kamar, Diego Carlos, and Robin Olsen’s signing will be now followed by the defender’s new deal. Young will further continue his journey with Aston Villa for another year which will also be his 17th season in the English top flight.
Young played 25 games in all competitions for Villa last season, out of which 24 came in the Premier League. Though he managed only 10 starts, Young came in handy for the Midlands club. As a result, Gerrard believes Young’s experience could his young squad furthermore.
Young to continue his Premier League venture with Villa
The wing-back had spent the early years of his career at Aston Villa before joining Manchester United. However, after spells with United and Inter, Young returned to Villa for the first time since 2011. The Telegraph have confirmed that barring a few details, Villa are “increasingly confident of an agreement” for Young’s extension.
The English outlet further adds that a signing under former Villa boss Dean Smith, Young is considered crucial to his plans by Steven Gerrard. Furthermore, despite four big signings, Gerrard feels this is a “key piece of summer business“.
Back in March, Gerrard had emphasized the importance of Young to his Aston Villa team.
“There have already been discussions. I’ve made it clear to Ash that I want him to stay around. The key to this will always be the player. He has to be happy, want to stay, negotiate and have his people connect to the club. There’s still a lot to discuss moving forward and there’s no rush but I’ll make it clear that we’re very happy with him”
, said the Villa boss.
It was quite evident as well last season with Gerrard using the wing-back more often than Smith. Young played a mere 7 games under Smith before Villa appointed Gerrard. The change saw Young get more minutes as his 18 appearances under Gerrard meant his game-time of 443 minutes increased up to1,328 minutes.
Villa currently have Lucas Digne as the sole left-back on the team. Young’s extension means Gerrard will have a back-up for the Frenchman. On the other hand, though Young operates primarily as a left-back he can also cover the right flank. Matt Targett has left for Newcastle United which would mean Young could cover for Cash as well.
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