Manchester United and Inter Milan reach deal for veteran left-back
Manchester United agreed to sell Ashley Young to Inter Milan for £1.3 million.
Manchester United’s squad transition continues as the Red Devils reached a deal with Inter Milan over Ashley Young.
According to The Guardian, Inter agreed to pay £1.3 million for the 34-year old fullback. Young will be reunited with former teammates Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez.
Manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer explained why they felt comfortable in letting their club captain leave in the middle of the season.
In a club statement, he said,
"“Well, to be fair, I think it was for Ashley, you know. He is 35 in the summer and, if he gets a two-year contract somewhere, I think it’s up to him to take that. We weren’t ready to offer that.”"
Sky Sports report that the player is in Italy where he is set to undergo his medical.
Solskjaer also mentioned that they had players coming up the pipeline which factored into Young’s decision to leave the club. He was not playing as much as previous seasons and wanted to find a place where he would be more involved.
His departure does leave United short on depth in the left-back position. Solskjaer mentioned Luke Shaw and the likes of Diogo Dalot and Timothy Fosu-Mensah as possible replacements.
Still, there was a reason why Ashley Young continued to more or less be first choice despite his deficiencies.
On paper, Young is not only leaving for a better opportunity but for a better situation. Inter currently sit two points behind Juventus in the hunt for the Serie A title. Given his experience, Young should get a run under Antonio Conte.
Had he stayed at United, he’d have stayed on a team that is unlikely to battle for any silverware and for a club who are a season or two from being serious title contenders.
Ashley Young was one of the more tenured players at the club having been there for nearly nine years since joining in 2011 from Aston Villa.
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Under Sir Alex Ferguson, he was utilized more as a winger and it wasn’t until later in his career and out of necessity that he was shifted over to left-back. With not much time left as an active player, a move to a title contender and for job security was always going to be a straight-forward decision.