There have been signs of unrest within Ashley Young’s camp over the last few weeks. The winger has been unsettled by a lot of interest from Premier League clubs looking to take him on. Unable to get much game time at Manchester United, Young has been far from receiving any first team action. Now, reports (Via The Daily Mail) have emerged that the 31-year-old has finally asked Manchester United boss José Mourinho about the possibility of leaving on a loan deal.
It remains to be seen if the Portuguese manager will entertain this request considering that the club have already let players like Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin leave in this January transfer window on a permanent basis.
Young has not only been linked with a move to Premier League clubs, but there has been strong interest from China. Shandong Luneng were looking to take the former England international on a three-year contract. Even though Young did not stand to receive mind-boggling numbers being mentioned for Carlos Tevez and Oscar, he would have made around £16 million over the course of those three years. It may not be a significant increase over his current £5 million wages, but he would at least be receiving this figure until the age of 34.
The former Aston Villa winger came to the club in 2011 for a fee of £18 million. Even though he has never been a top pick in the starting lineup, Young has never been out of the first-team reckoning. This time around, though, age and intense competition seem to have caught up with the winger. Despite his versatility increased manifold with his ability to play at left-back or left wing-back, it seems that Mourinho would rather use right-back Matteo Darmian in those positions.
One of the major hindrances towards Young’s wish coming true is Manchester’s involvement in the FA Cup and the Europa League, not to mention the semi-finals, and potentially the final, of the EFL Cup. The club are expecting a long list of games in the second half of the season and having the strength in depth would be essential in such a scenario.
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