Veteran defender Ashley Young has signed a new one-year deal with Manchester United that will keep him at the club till the summer of 2020.
Manchester United have confirmed the contract extension of another of their star players. Seasoned campaigner Ashley Young has signed a new deal with the Red Devils, furthering his stay at Old Trafford till the 2019-20 season, the club announced on their official website on Monday.
The 33-year-old Young was in the final few months of his existing contract with Manchester United, but had iterated his desire of continuing with the club beyond the ongoing season. And now, he has penned a new one-year deal with the 20-time English champions.
Young joined Manchester United from Aston Villa back in the summer of 2011 and has gone on to rack up 227 appearances for the club, scoring 17 goals and setting up 42 more. During his time at Old Trafford, the Englishman has won the Premier League in 2012-13, the FA Cup in 2015-16, and the League Cup and UEFA Europa League in 2016-17.
✍️ Ashley Young has signed a one-year extension to his contract with #MUFC.
Congrats, @Youngy18! ? pic.twitter.com/XVfGZZgSQl
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 11, 2019
A winger by trade, Young has reinvented himself as a full-back in recent seasons and has been an integral part of the Manchester United setup under previous manager Jose Mourinho as well as interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In the ongoing season, the England international has featured 25 times in all competitions, scoring once and assisting three more.
Speaking after Young’s contract extension, manager Solskjaer told MUTV: “Since I’ve come into the club, Ashley has been fantastic. His attitude and his experience around the place is vital for us because we have got a young team. We’ve got players that need some leaders in the dressing room and Ash is one of them so I’m delighted.”
Young’s contract extension comes on the back of a couple more key deals, with the club securing the long-term future of French international Anthony Martial last month, which was followed by Phil Jones signing a new four-year deal last week.
While Young’s form has been up and down at times this season, his extension comes as a smart move by Manchester United, given how important a figure he is on the field and in the dressing room.
With the club likely to lose another senior member – Antonio Valencia – in the summer, the move to extend Young’s stay by another twelve months seems like the right decision, as summer signing Diogo Dalot slowly gets integrated into the first-team over the next season.
