Young agrees to join Villa for £9.65 million
Ashley Young is poised to complete his £9.65million move from
Watford after Martin O'Neill confirmed the player had 'verbally
agreed' to join the midlands club.
Young is set to undergo a medical at Bodymoore Heath on Sunday
before formerly putting pen to paper on the deal which will confirm
him as Villa's record signing.
O'Neill had an initial bid of nearly £7million rejected by the
Hornets but looks to have finally made his first major capture of
the January transfer window.
O'Neill said: 'I'm hopeful about Ashley although nothing is certain
yet but he has verbally agreed to join us and he wants to come
here.
'He is a very talented player and I am confident he will prove
worth the money we are spending on him. I will be delighted if and
when things are tied up.
'We need someone with the ability to put the ball in the net. We
need a goal-scorer to convert some of the chances we are
creating.'
Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd, whose side lost 2-0 at Villa Park
today, said: 'The deal with the club Ashley is going to isn't quite
done but we are more or less there.
'I believe it is going to be concluded tomorrow. I believe he is
having a medical tomorrow.
'He has done remarkably well handling all the attention he has been
receiving and I believe he will kick on again at the club he is
going to. He is a real asset.
'I don't want to name the club by name who look like they are going
to sign him but I think you know who it is.'
Young was left out of the Watford side to play at Villa Park on
Saturday - another strong indication that Villa are the side he
will be signing for.
O'Neill was delighted to see Villa clinch their first victory in 12
Premiership games thanks to two goals in the last three minutes
against bottom-place Watford.
Striker Milan Baros spurned a host of chances before Villa wrapped
up the points thanks to an own goal and Gabriel Agbonlahor's sixth
strike of the campaign.
O'Neill said: 'It was a great relief to win and there is a lot of
euphoria in the dressing room. We deserved it and we always felt
capable of getting a goal even thought we left it late.
'As the pressure built up I didn't want us to lose our discipline
and concede ourselves and we managed to stay patient.'
Baros was booed by a section of the Villa fans as he left the pitch
when substituted near the end and O'Neill said: 'I would not
approve of anyone getting that treatment at home. I felt sympathy
for Milan but that sort of thing can happen.'
Boothroyd said: 'I thought we were going to hold on. It wasn't a
good game and perhaps that was a reflection of the run of results
both sides have been having.
'It was always going to take a scrappy goal to basically clinch it,
namely an own goal, and then when you are chasing an equaliser
there is always the chance of being caught on the counter-attack
and that's what happened.
'I didn't believe in luck until this season, but when we do what
Villa did, the ball goes straight into the keepers hands, but
that's life.'
