Into the twilight years of his career, Ashley Young is Aston Villa’s club captain during his second stint with the club. Young is a depth piece at this stage, starting just 10 Premier League matches in 2021-22 along with 14 substitute appearances.
This is only part of the Ashley Young story, however. He starred alongside some of the best Premier League strikers, he was an England regular and even had a surprising stint at San Siro with Inter.
He first made his name starring for a Watford team favoured in Premier League relegation odds, but Young quickly climbed the Premier League hierarchy to build a significant medal collection.
From his latest contract to career moves and a surprising link to the greatest of British F1 drivers, let’s learn a bit more about the former England international.
How Much Is Ashley Young Worth?
Ashley Young net worth is reportedly £7.4 million. Obviously, the vast majority of Young’s net worth was accumulated during his nine-season stay with Manchester United.
He reportedly earned over £6 million per year in the final three years at Old Trafford, and his income was significant after moving to the north-west from Aston Villa.
Young had what was likely a lucrative deal with Nike during his peak years at Manchester United.
Never the most marketable of footballers, however, the Stevenage native didn’t have the same catalogue of endorsement deals as many of his peers.
Ashley Young Contract
Despite leaving the club as a free agent on July 1st 2022, Ashley Young extended his contract for another season a few days later.
Along with the new deal, he was named club captain, though midfielder John McGinn was picked as on-field skipper by Steven Gerrard.
It’s unclear what Young’s salary is exactly for 2022-23, but Spotrac had him down for £50,000 per week in 2021-22.
There is a decent chance that he has taken a slight pay cut given his role in the squad, though Gerrard spoke very positively of Young back in March.
He's a player who can come in and do any job on a football pitch. There aren't many people who can do that, especially at his age as well.
"He's one of a few, like James Milner, who are a manager's dream. Certain situations crop up where you need someone to come in and do a certain type of job.
"It doesn't matter whether it's on the left, the right, in the middle, in attack, it doesn't matter what you ask them to do, they just carry it out. People need to give Ashley Young a lot of credit for being able to do that."
Villa have invested heavily in their first team over the last three transfer windows, with several players paid considerably more than Young in 2021-22.
He will have fallen further down the list this summer with the signings of Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara.
Ashley Young Career Statistics
Ashley Young has played in over 640 club matches, scoring 84 goals along the way.
Young’s England career began in 2007 and he made his last appearance in 2018, finishing on 39 caps with seven goals despite a hiatus between 2013 and 2017.
Predominantly a creator rather than scorer, Young has over 120 assists to his name in club football, with a career-best return of 16 assists in 2007-08 for Aston Villa.
Starting his career with Watford, Young made 110 appearances for the Hornets before joining Villa for the first time.
Across four and a half campaigns in the Midlands, he appeared 190 times for the Villains ahead of a high-profile move to Manchester United.
Across almost a decade at Old Trafford, Young had over 260 outings and then had a short stint with Inter by which point he had shifted to playing full-back or wing-back.
Lewis Hamilton Link
Ashley Young attended the same school, and played in a football team alongside seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton.
The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School has quite a claim to fame, having produced arguably the greatest racing of all-time and a long-serving Premier League star in Young.
It’s an overstatement to say Young is in Hamilton’s shadow, but there have been moments where he has not responded too positively to his schoolmate being brought up during interviews.
Ashley Young Transfer History
Joining Watford’s academy at just 10 years of age, Young debuted for the club in September 2003. He made six total appearances for the club that season and became an integral part of the side in 2004-05.
Having caught the eye in the Championship, Young continued to impress with Watford in the Premier League. Halfway through his debut topflight campaign, Aston Villa spent almost £12 million to take the then 21-year-old to Villa Park.
Four and a half years later, Young had earned numerous individual honours, including a couple of selections to the PFA Team of the Year.
Manchester United came calling in the 2011 summer window, splashing over £16 million on Young and handing him the number 18 shirt.
While already highly regarded, this was a real step up in the world of Premier League predictions, and Young was under considerable pressure to deliver. He did just that, winning his first and only league title in 2012-13.
Into his final few seasons at Old Trafford, Young moved into a deeper role, often used as a wing-back.
Being adept in this role is what made Inter sign Young for around £1 million in January 2020. The Nerazzuri had, and exercised, an option to retain the Englishman for the 2020-21 season.
At the end of this deal, he re-signed with Aston Villa on a one-year deal.
Ashley Young Honours
-
Premier League – 2012-13
-
FA Cup – 2015-16
-
EFL Cup – 2016-17
-
Community Shield – 2011
-
Europa League – 2016-17
-
Serie A – 2020-21
-
Watford Player of the Season – 2004-05
-
PFA Team of the Year – 2005-06 Championship, 2007-08 Premier League, 2008-09 Premier League
-
PFA Young Player of the Year – 2008-09
-
Premier League Player of the Month – April 2008, September 2008, December 2008
FIRST PUBLISHED: 1st August 2022
