Ashley Young

Ashley Young was born in Stevenage, England on 9th July 1985 and honed his football skills playing with his three brothers. Young's football education continued at school where he reportedly played alongside Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton. Growing up, Young supported Arsenal and idolised their striker Ian Wright.

Young joined the Watford academy as a teenager but initially he failed to impress and the club were willing to let him go. Unperturbed by the Hornets' knock-back, Young insisted that he wanted to prove himself and he continued to train with the youth team on an unpaid basis before manager Ray Lewington eventually recognised his worth and offered him a professional contract. Young made a scoring debut for Watford against Millwall in September 2003, eventually scoring three goals in six appearances in 2003-2004.

Young's breakthrough season came in 2004-2005 when he made 38 appearances for the Hornets and was named their Young Player of the Season. Under Aidy Boothroyd, Young was pushed into a more attacking role and scored 15 times as Watford won promotion via the play-offs in 2005-2006. Young was now a Premier League player.  

2006-2007 started well for Young, who netted three times in Watford's first 11 games, and he quickly drew attention from some of the Premier League's more established sides. Having rejected a move to West Ham United, Young moved to Aston Villa for a fee rising to £9.5m+ in January 2007, and again scored on his debut.

Over the following seasons Young continued to improve and develop as a player, earning his first England call up at the start of the 2007-2008 season, and making his debut against Austria in November 2007. Young provided 17 assists in 2007-2008 and was named in the Premier League team of the Year. In 2008 Young became the first player to win the Premier League Player of the Month award three times in the same year. He would go on to score 10 goals in 48 appearances in 2008-2009. Young spent two more seasons at Villa Park before Manchester United made an offer that neither the club nor the player could refuse.

Young joined Manchester United in June 2011 for a fee reported to be between £15m and £20m and in his first season he was part of the side that were heartbreakingly beaten to the title by Manchester City. In his second season Young did finally get his hands on a major trophy as Sir Alex Ferguson's team reclaimed their Premier League crown. At international level, Young has become an England regular, playing in all four of his country's games at Euro 2012. 

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