Aston Villa confirm stalwart will depart this summer; securing European football a fitting swansong

Aston Villa have confirmed that Ashley Young will leave at the end of his contract this summer, following a successful second season on his return to the club.

Young is ninth on the list of players with the most Premier League appearances at Villa. Indeed, he’s appeared 210 times for the club in the top flight.

That equates to about half of his Premier League appearances for any club – 422. While his most successful years came at Manchester United, he’ll go down as a legend at Villa.

When he initially left for United, Villa lost one of their best players. Indeed, Young, playing as a winger at the time, made 44 league assists in his first five seasons at the club.

He continued to shine as an elite provider during his first few seasons at Old Trafford, and spent almost nine good years there before he made the switch to Serie A side Inter Milan.

After a season and a half in Italy, Young returned to Villa on a free transfer, to the delight of fans.

In his second spell at Villa Park, the Englishman made 57 appearances. While used as a utility player off the bench for a lot of the initial period, he was the preferred right-back for much of the second season.

That saw him rack up 29 appearances, 23 of those coming from the start, as he helped his side secure European football for the first time since 2010.

Villa confirm Young departure

As it’s turned out, that was a fitting end for Young at Villa. He is out of contract in the summer, and there have been no signs of a renewal.

Villa have now confirmed that Young will depart the club at the end of his deal.

A statement from the club reads: “Everyone at Aston Villa would like to sincerely thank Ashley for his service to the club and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours”.

It’s unclear whether the 37-year-old has another move lined up, or if he might retire.

Judging by his performances this season, he can certainly offer something to a side going forwards. Whether or not that ends up being the case remains to be seen.

With Matty Cash the only remaining senior right-back in the squad, it would not be a surprise if Villa were to recruit another player in that position. Depth will be important as the Villans make the foray back into European football.

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