Delighted Ashley Young has spoken of his joy and excitement at returning to Aston Villa.
The versatile 35-year-old signed a one-year contract on Thursday, having spent the previous 18 months at Inter Milan, lifting the Serie A title last season.
Young’s return to Villa Park comes after he spent four-and-a-half enjoyable years at the club between January 2007 - June 2011, admitting he loved his time here as he made 190 appearances, scored 38 goals and created a host of fond memories.
And Young could not hide his visible delight at being back at Bodymoor Heath.
“It feels amazing to be back, it feels like I’ve not left,” he told VillaTV.
“I’m just delighted to be back, seeing some old faces, being back at the training ground, seeing the facilities and how well they’ve grown.
“You can see how much the club has evolved since my time and I’m just ready to get down to work now.”
Young arrived from Watford, who will be Villa’s opening-day opponents on the first weekend of the 2021/22 Premier League season.
He went on to spend eight-and-a-half years at Manchester United, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League, before switching to Italy and sealing the Scudetto.
The vastly experienced Young has also earned 39 senior caps for England and scored seven goals, a key member of the Three Lions side who reached the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
And, having received interest from elsewhere, he is now determined to help bring his experience, winning mentality and hunger to Villa’s youthful squad, insisting age is just a number and he feels fitter than ever before.
“When I heard of the interest from Aston Villa, it was straight to my agent ‘get a deal done, whatever you can, get a deal done’,” he said.
“Watching from afar, seeing the squad, how well they did last season, how well they’ve been doing.
“The staff, the manager, how the players want to play for him; they’ve got that hunger, he’s got that desire, that winning mentality.
“And, for me, I know I’ve got that winning mentality.
“I think someone said (about me) ‘he’s coming to the end of his career’, ‘he hasn’t got that hunger any more’, ‘he’s just going there for a swansong’…
“That’s not me at all, I’ve still got that winning mentality, that winners’ attitude, that desire and hunger to go and win.
“When I see the squad here, the staff and the players, to have the opportunity to join this club again is fantastic for me and I just want to get down to work and bring my qualities, my experience to a young squad.
“I don’t know whether I’m going to be a father figure…
“For me to come here, not to just be around the squad, I want to come here and play.
“Competition for places, I’ve had it at every club I’ve played at, so I’m just delighted to be back here, challenging, challenging the players who were here last season and bringing my qualities and experience to this squad.”
In his first interview since re-signing for the club, Ashley also discusses his time in Italy, being back in the Premier League, Villa’s vision for the future and more.
You can watch the full interview below…
