Fergie’s a winner with Young

Friday, 24/06/2011

by Amit Mistry, Shoot's Manchester United blogger

Once again, Sir Alex has won the transfer battle for a player against arch-rival Kenny Daglish as Ashley Young has become the latest addition to Manchester United, signing a five-year deal for a reported £17m. He is proven player who is reaching his peak and is determined to showcase his talent on a bigger stage.

This represents a key strategic move by Ferguson as Young is an excellent player who quite versatile. He has play on either side of the wing or as a support striker, providing assists and danger from set-pieces also. In the past five seasons, only Cesc Fabregas has provided more assists, which will provide more chances for Rooney and Hernandez.

This will also help Ferguson in adjusting his formations as Young can play as a winger in a 4-4-2 formation or as a third attacking prong in a 4-3-3. With Young having the ability to score goals from the midfield, this will also making the midfield more lethal once again, as this aspect of the United side has been lacking since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.

However with Young’s arrival, this could cast doubts over the future of Nani. Both players are naturally left-sided wingers with the versatility of switching to the right also. Ashley Young may be the preferred option as he is more mature and disciplined than the Portuguese winger.

Park Ji-Sung and now Tom Cleverly are now back-up players for that position, Nani could be forced to consider his future at Old Trafford. However, I believe Nani will try his luck and fight for his place in the team, rather than switch clubs.

When Young first joined Aston Villa, there were many sceptics as to whether he would be worth the heavy price tag, which was around £9m. Now being sold onto United for nearly double the value, Young has proved that he is a real asset to any team, and it was even reported once than the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid were interested in the English forward.

Despite his rise to prominence at Aston Villa, many will agree in saying that his development was being held back in a club that was underachieving for too long. With the move to Old Trafford, this will enhance his experience and ability by playing in the Champions League and working under one of the best managers in the world. This will also boost his chances for England as he has been overlooked far too many times, including his exclusion from the 2010 World Cup.

However, it now looks very likely that Alexis Sanchez will move to one of United’s rivals like Manchester City, Chelsea or Barcelona. I would have preferred the signing of Sanchez, to Young but I think Ferguson did not want to risk £30mplus on a signing who is not proven in the Premier League.

Many of the English contingent at United such as Ferdinand, Rooney and Owen have been expressing their delight on Twitter at the new signing, and this level of support and enthusiasm will help Young settle into life at Old Trafford. His attacking flair and strong team mentality will help him gain popularity within the team and with the fans.

With the rebuilding of the United side going full steam ahead, fans will soon be expecting more signings. David de Gea should be next on the hit-list, whilst a creative central midfielder like Wesley Sneijder is being touted as another addition.

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