View: Ashley Young now indispensable from Aston Villa after footage emerges
Aston Villa began the season with no intentions of Ashley Young being an integral part of their plans but he is now almost undroppable.
The 37-year-old has been a revelation at full-back ever since Lucas Digne and Matty Cash suffered their injury problems and even though the latter is back in action, Young can’t be budged from the side.
His performances have all been very good despite Villa struggling to find form in the Premier League but what stands him out from the rest of the squad is his sheer experience.
That wise brain was in full force against Brentford on Sunday (23 October) as the Premier League shared footage from the 4-0 rout on their official Instagram account.
The video shows Young standing with the ball in his hand moments before Danny Ings’ thumping penalty was taken as if it was actually he who would take it.
As a result, the Bees tried everything they could to put him off and left Ings all to himself on the edge of the area so that once the referee had forced them all away from the spot, he could step up without distraction.
The finish was emphatic but a large amount of gratitude has to go to Young who was prepared to take all kinds of mind games and possibly abuse to ensure that the Villans’ number nine was left alone.
It takes a true leader to put themselves in the firing line for anything and the England international proved that without him, things could be even worse for Aston Villa right now.
Even when Digne returns, Unai Emery has to find a place in the team for Young to slot in because there is no parallel to him at Bodymoor right now.
In other Aston Villa news, this loanee is enjoying his time in the Championship but his manager says he is unlikely to be recalled in January.