Aston Villa have made their second signing of the transfer window, as Ashley Young returns to the club after a decade-long absence.
The 35-year-old joins on a free transfer from Inter Milan, where he made 44 league appearances over two seasons, culminating in a Serie A title in his final campaign.
His homecoming will evoke memories of the winger wearing his famous Adidas F50’s, along with a long-sleeved shirt and black gloves, cutting onto his right foot and bending crosses into opposition penalty areas, but Young will bring more than fond memories to Villa Park.
When Tom Heaton, Ahmed Elmohamady and Neil Taylor were released, they took a wealth of experience with them, leaving Lovre Kalinic and Conor Hourihane as the only remaining Villa players in their thirties.
The addition of Young will go some way to filling that void, as he instantly becomes the oldest player on the team and will serve as a mentor for an otherwise youthful squad.
There may be come confusion among Villa fans as to how this signing fits with the club’s recent preference for younger, ascending players.
Signing such players is all well and good, but older heads are needed too, and getting one like Young, who fills a need, knows the club and costs nothing, makes a world of sense.
He’s not just here to babysit though.
Young told Villa TV that he feels in great shape after playing under the demanding Antonio Conte at Inter, and is eager to push for a place in the starting 11.
And Young’s versatility gives him a chance of achieving that goal. His success as a winger is evident, but a move to fullback/wingback has proven fruitful in both Manchester and Milan.
He’s shown an ability to play on the left or right side of defence, so even if he can’t earn a starting job, Young could be the first man off the bench in multiple positions.
Despite playing in a more defensive role in recent years, Young’s attacking talent has still been on full display.
Among full backs and wing backs who started at least 10 games in a top 5 European league in 2020/21, Young ranks in the 95th percentile for assists (0.14) and key passes per 90 minutes (0.84).
He also had the 4th best cross accuracy (52.38%) and was in the 92nd percentile for shot assists per 90 minutes (1.43).
Defensively though, there remain some concerns.
Only four players had fewer successful defensive actions per 90 minutes than his 5.92, and he ranked in just the 10th percentile for defensive duel success (51.9%).
Similarly, Fbref.com rank Young in the 12th percentile in defensive metrics over the last calendar year.
Bearing in mind that Villa primarily utilise a back four, there will be questions asked as to whether Young is strong enough without the ball to hold up, without the security of three centre backs behind him.
But overall, Young has shown he can still compete at a high level. The football grading website WhoScored.com gave him a grade of 6.73 over his 18 months in Italy, an above average rating for that period.
Young also provides another option for Dean Smith as a set-piece taker, an issue that Villa need to find a way to solve this summer.
The scale of Ashley Young’s impact in his second spell in claret and blue remains to be seen, but his signing is a low-risk one and represents another smart move from Aston Villa’s recruitment team.
The Villa Ramble 
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