Patrick Rees
Manchester United have rewarded Ashley Young with a new bumper and improved contract which is worth £6million a year, reports the Daily Mirror.
The 32-year-old’s current Manchester United contract was due to expire at the end of the season and the club eventually decided to trigger their right of extending his deal by another 12 months. Young, who is considered as one of the most versatile players England have ever produced, has become Jose Mourinho’s go-to man for the left-back spot despite the fact that the club already have the likes of Daley Blind and Luke Shaw.
This season, the 32-year-old has already made 10 starts under Jose Mourinho in all competitions and his impressive displays even earned him his England recall earlier this month, when he came off the bench in England’s goalless draw with Brazil at Wembley. Young, who earns £130,000-a-week at Old Trafford, can play in four different positions and that is reportedly the primary reason why Mourinho rates him so much.
The former Aston Villa man, who joined Manchester United back in 2011, was firmly linked with a move away from the club over the summer. But Mourinho was keen on retaining his man, hence no move ever materialised. Most prominently, a certain Chinese Premier League side Shandong Luneng offered Young a lucrative £10million per year offer, according to the Daily Mirror.
However, the Englishman rejected the offer as he wanted to continue playing in England. Furthermore, there were claims that Stoke City had wanted Young back in the summer as well, but Mourinho wanted him to stay and the versatile Englishman stayed put.
His start to the new season was slow as he missed United’s first four Premier League encounters, but an impressive display against Everton (a 4-0 win) earned him a regular first-team spot ahead of Shaw and Blind. This was not it, as the 32-year-old also got the captain’s armband from the club for the game against CSKA Moscow in September, which we won.
Meanwhile, Young isn’t the only United player to have got a contract extension as Daily Mail quotes that Ander Herrera’s contract has been triggered as well. The Spaniard’s contract, just like Young’s was due to expire at the end of the season and the club decided to trigger their extra year option. It now remains to be seen what lies in store for the likes of Juan Mata, Luke Shaw and Daley Blind, as the trio’s current contract runs down at the end of the season as well.
