Ashley Young giving Unai Emery healthy selection dilemma, contract talks await – Ty Bracey
We’re delighted to welcome Aston Villa podcaster Ty Bracey as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Ty Bracey believes Ashley Young’s stellar form will provide Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will a healthy selection dilemma when Matty Cash returns from injury.
Young, 37, has been an ever-present in Emery’s side since Cash sustained a calf injury while on international duty with Poland in March, helping the club record four clean sheets from six games since.
Injury Expert Ben Dinnery has now shared that Cash has a 50% chance of featuring in Villa’s clash against Manchester United on Sunday (30 April), but whether Emery would risk fielding him from the offset is another question.
Meanwhile, Young, who has featured 25 times for Aston Villa this season, sees his contract at the club expire this June.
The Express and Star reported earlier this month (19 April) that Emery seeks to speak with the veteran, who returned to Villa in 2021 after a decade at Manchester United and Inter Milan, in the coming weeks about the possibility of a new deal at B6.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bracey waxed lyrical about the performances of Young this term and admitted Emery faces a tough selection call when Cash returns from the sidelines.
“I’ve got no complaints with Ashley Young whatsoever,” he said.
“He’s an absolute machine who is defying the laws of football gravity.
“He is doing what is expected of him and more and he is a massive influence in the dressing room.
“I think he has been a massive part of this season under Emery, I really think that, but it’s a healthy problem for Emery to have when Cash returns from injury.
“You’ve got two players who are hungry to start and play football, and I’m happy with either one of Matty Cash or Ashley Young starting in the coming weeks.”
With five games of their Premier League season remaining, Aston Villa stand a great chance of securing European football for the first time in 13 years, currently sitting in fifth position on 54 points.
Whether Young, who was present when Villa last took to the European stage, will be a part of yet more history with the club, is set to be seen.
In other Aston Villa news, concerns about Ollie Watkins have been examined by a BBC Sport pundit.