Ashley Young will hold talks with Jose Mourinho over his Manchester United future as he enters the final year of his contract at Old Trafford, according to reports.
The 32-year-old, who joined United back in 2011, has made 160 appearances for the club and featured on a sporadic basis last season, with Mourinho using him as a specialist left-winger in games requiring greater levels of discipline. He only made 12 Premier League appearances last season but produced vitally composed displays against the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea – wearing the armband for the latter – whilst also impressing against Blackburn Rovers and Saint Etienne.
Speculation surrounding a move away for Young inevitably surfaced over the summer. Stoke City expressed keen interest in securing his services alongside various Chinese Super League sides and Istanbul Basaksehir, but any potential suitors were put off by the Englishman’s valuation as market forces started to rapidly inflate through August.
According to the Sun, Mourinho will give the 32-year-old a chance to seek a move elsewhere next summer once his contract expires in order to secure regular playing time, but Young is content with his position as a fringe player in the Portuguese’s squad and will seek to activate a clause on his existing contract that enables him to stay at the club until 2019.
And a source close to the player has noted that talks with the club will take place over his future in the coming weeks.
“Ashley and the boss are going to sit down with his reps and discuss his future,” he told the Sun.
“He can leave on a free next summer but has the option. The club won’t stand in his way if he wants to go though. You have to appreciate he wants to play more with his career coming to the later stages. He does love it here though.”
