Young at heart: Aston
Villa's wing-wizard Ashley Young has his heart set on a move to
Manchester United
Ashley Young will look to force through a dream move to
Manchester United in the summer.
The England forward will resist any attempt
by Aston Villa
to revive
contract talks in a bid to clear the path to Old
Trafford.
Young is a long-term target for Sir Alex Ferguson, who views the
25-year-old as a successor to Ryan Giggs and Sportsmail understands Young has
already told a number of Villa team-mates that he wants to move to
United.
He could cost as little as £10million in the summer after being
valued at £25m at the start of the season.
His current deal expires at the end of the next campaign and
discussions over fresh terms have hit the buffers. With Villa faced
with losing Young for nothing next year, they could have little
option but to sell in the summer.
The forward has held a first round of talks with Villa over a
four-year deal worth in the region of £70,000 per week, but has
since decided he has no intention of signing.
I want that one: Sir Alex Ferguson has a list of
players he wants to revitalise his squad
Ferguson has sensed for some time that his United squad
may be in need of serious attention and successive defeats by
Chelsea and Liverpool have confirmed his worst fears.
Dismayed by the shortcomings of his squad, exposed by
non-League Crawley in the FA Cup and Marseille in the Champions
League, Ferguson is pursuing potential targets in all areas after
being assured he can finally dip into the £80m fee received for
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Apart from Young, he has a strong interest in Everton’s Jack
Rodwell and is also ready to move for Tottenham duo Luka Modric and
Gareth Bale, Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson and a
first-choice keeper to replace Edwin van der Sar.
Several players who have fallen below expectations, like
midfielders Darron Gibson and Michael Carrick and defender Jonny
Evans, look vulnerable to a shake-up while question marks hover
over Gabriel Obertan and Bebe.
Ferguson has long admired Rodwell’s composure and versatility as
a central midfielder or centre back. He senses Everton may finally
be ready to relent over allowing him to follow Wayne Rooney to Old
Trafford.
Although Henderson has indicated a willingness to remain at
Sunderland, Ferguson is ready to test that by offering him
Carrick’s central midfield role. Bale would fill the need for
another full back as well as providing pace down the left, while
Modric would replicate veteran Paul Scholes’ guile from
midfield.
Determined: Ferguson still has eyes for
Sunderland's Jordan Henderson despite the player's willingness to
stay with the Black Cats
United are confident Scholes will sign for one more
year, but Ferguson is still keen to prise Modric from Tottenham and
install him as the creative spark missing for much of this season.
Young would satisfy the Scot’s need for more width and pace in his
squad.
Ferguson will also attempt to recruit a proven, senior keeper in
light of Van der Sar’s impending retirement and is still being
linked with Schalke’s Manuel Neuer and Inter Milan’s Julio
Cesar.
The United manager demands fringe players demonstrate their
readiness to grasp a first-team place whenever an opportunity
presents itself and has been bitterly disappointed by the way
several have fallen short this season.
As an added worry, injury-ravaged former England midfielder Owen
Hargreaves may have to accept his United career is over when his
contract expires in the summer. There also remain doubts about
Michael Owen’s ability to stay fit for any length of time.