Aston Villa are now keen to award Ashley Young a new contract to keep him at the club for another year. The veteran defender is set to become a free agent at the end of this season.
That is according to Birmingham Live, which reports that Unai Emery has decided he wants to keep Young at Aston Villa. Club chiefs have also started to put a plan in place for the 37-year-old to move into a coaching position at Villa Park for once he ultimately opts to retire.
Young has started to look toward his post-playing career having started to get his coaching badges. Aston Villa want to provide the 39-cap former England international with a role at Bodymoor Heath once he hangs up his boots. But his playing days can continue until 2024.
Aston Villa plan to offer Young a one-year extension to his contract at the club. His existing £83k-a-week terms are set to lapse on June 30 after only signing a 12-month extension last July. But Emery appreciates what the experienced technician can still offer in his Villa team.
Young intends to sit down with Aston Villa come the end of the term once again to discuss any contract. He will speak with the club to map out his future as the Stevenage-born star turns 38 on July 9. Young is the third-oldest player going in the Premier League right now.
Aston Villa want to give Young a new contract as he remains key under Emery
Throughout the Premier League, only Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva, 38, and West Ham United goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, 37, are older than Young. Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, was also ahead of the Aston Villa wing-back before Manchester United released the forward.
Yet despite his age, Young has played 16 Premier League games so far this season and has started in 12. He has also scored a goal with an effort that captivated Steven Gerrard back on October 10. Young struck the Villans’ equaliser to draw 1-1 away to Nottingham Forest.
“Ashley Young’s strike was phenomenal,” Gerrard told the Aston Villa club website. “That’s the only real moment of magic we got in the final third, and that’s not enough.”
Emery has since kept Young in a prominent role at Aston Villa with five starts during seven Premier League games. He also awarded him the captaincy when the Villans drew 1-1 with Wolves. The experienced full-back has featured in each of Emery’s league games in charge.
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