England hopeful Ashley Young is a £15million target for
Chelsea as Roman Abramovich plans to buy British
in the summer.
Young has been earmarked by Chelsea — along with Manchester City youngster Daniel Sturridge — as
the replacement for France winger Florent Malouda, who will be
offloaded at the end of the season after two disappointing seasons
at Stamford Bridge.
The Aston Villa winger has flourished under Martin
O’Neill since an £8.5m move from
Watford but he wants Champions League football next season to boost
his international prospects under Fabio Capello.
Young has been left out of the latest England squad as Villa’s
run of seven games without a win has hit their chances of finishing
in the top four.
Chelsea are also front-runners to sign Sturridge, whose contract
at City runs out in the summer.
The teenage striker is guided by his family, including Uncle
Dean, who used to play at
Derby. So far, he has rejected City’s £40,000-a-week offer and
manager Mark Hughes admits he is finding the situation
frustrating.