Aston Villa have officially confirmed the signing of Ashley Young, who returns to the club for a second spell after leaving a decade ago for Man Utd.
The 35-year-old is fresh from winning the Serie A title last season with Inter, but with his contract expiring with the Nerazzurri, he has left on a free transfer and opted to re-sign for Villa ahead of the new campaign.
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Young, who turns 36 next month, has put pen to paper on an initial one-year deal, as per the club’s official site, and he will no doubt bring key qualities to the squad as Dean Smith looks to add and replace some of the invaluable experienced stalwarts that he lost this summer.
With Neil Taylor and Ahmed Elmohamady both moving on, there was concern over the lack of depth at full-back, but Young will be a crucial addition as he has the versatility to play in either role as well as a more attacking position if required.
In turn, with his experience, winning pedigree and versatility, it’s a really smart move from Villa to strengthen the squad further, with Young becoming our second signing of the summer already following Emiliano Buendia’s arrival from Norwich City.
Smith will no doubt hope for more reinforcements to arrive in the coming months, as we look to build on our progress last season to start challenging for, and ultimately break into, the top six places in the Premier League.
