Ashley Young is an English footballer best known for his resilience and willpower. Initially turned away by Watford, he insisted on staying and within a few years had emerged as one of the most exciting young wingers. He managed to land Angel Di Maria for Manchester United in the 2014/15 season. Ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he managed to improve the left-back position despite being a natural attacker.

Born name

Ashley Simon Young

nickname

Ashley

Sun sign

Krebs

Place of birth

Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England

nationality

training

Ashley Young went to The John Henry Newman School which is located in his hometown of Stevenage.

Early in his football journey he joined the youth setup of Watford FC .

occupation

Professional soccer player

family

• Vater – Luther Young
• mother – unknown
• Siblings – Kyle Young (Younger Brother) (Pro Footballer), Lewis Young (Younger Brother) (Pro Footballer). Ashley also has an older brother.

Manager

Ashley Young is joined by Base Soccer Agency Ltd. represent.

Position

Winger, full-back, full-back

Shirt Number

27 – FC Watford

15 – FC Watford

7 – Aston Villa, England national team

18 – Manchester United, England national team

To build

Athletic

Height

5 feet 9¼ inches or 176 cm

weight

68 kg or 150 lbs

girlfriend/spouse

Ashley Young dated –

1. Nicky Pike – Ashley Young began dating Nicky Pike while they were still in college. They were due to marry in 2011 and had even booked the five-star The Grove in Hertfordshire for their lavish wedding. However, just 2 days before the wedding, he got cold feet and decided to call it off. Nicky was mad and it was 4 months before they got back together. They finally married in June 2015 in a secret wedding at the posh Stoke Place Hotel in Buckinghamshire. The wedding was attended by his former Aston Villa teammates Fabrice Muamba and Stylian Petrov. Nicky had given birth to a son, Tyler, and a younger daughter, Ellearna, during the course of their marriage.

race/ethnicity

Schwarz

Ashley has Jamaican ancestry on his father’s side.

hair colour

Black (natural)

eye color

dark brown

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

• Almost shaved head
• Light body frame
• High cheekbones

brand promotion

Ashley Young has signed a personal endorsement deal with Nike . Because of the deal, he is required to wear the cleats for his professional matches.

Known for

• Having played over 150 league games for the England side, Aston Villa have cemented their reputation as one of the best up-and-coming attacking players in the English top flight
• As a Manchester United player, he has won a Premier League title, FA Cup, EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League with the English football giants

First football game

In September 2003, Ashley made his professional debut with Watford FC in a game against Millwall. Young, then 18, came on as a second-half substitute and also scored a goal.

In January 2007, Young made his first appearance for Aston Villa in a league game against Newcastle United. Although he managed to break into the scorer chart, his team lost the match 3-1.

In August 2011 he made his debut for Manchester United in the FA Community Shield match against Manchester City. His side won the game 3-2 with Nani scoring a brilliant team goal in injury time.

In November 2007, Ashley Young made his first international start in England ‘s friendly against Austria. He was brought on by Steve McClaren at half-time.

Strengthen

• Dribbling
• speed
• acceleration
• Strength
• attack is in progress
• Crossing
• set piece delivery
• Aggressive

weaknesses

• Falls down too easily
• consistency
• tackle
• defensive positioning

First TV show

In 2015, Ashley Young made his first TV show appearance in sports TV series, Soccer Freestyler 2 .

Personal trainer

Ashley Young works hard in the gym to bolster his lower physical strength, which is very important for his explosive power, running down the left flank. He starts his workout with regular barbell squats. He performs 3 sets of 8 reps each. He follows with lunges and Swiss ball hamstring curls. He keeps the sets and reps similar to those used for squats.

To keep his endurance and high-intensity runs throughout the game, Young relies on interval training. He believes it’s an excellent option for building stamina. Such training also helps to repeat the game scenario, in which he has to regularly turn on his speed boosters for attacking play, and also deal with counterattacks.

Ashley Young favorite things

• Role Model – Ian Wright
• Food – jerk chicken, peas and rice

Ashley Young Facts

1. At Watford, Ashley was not offered a scholarship contract and was even asked to leave. So he asked the club for permission to stay and train part-time. His stay at the club was also completely unpaid.
2. Within a year of turning his back on the club, he managed to secure his first professional contract from the club.
3. At the end of the 2004–05 season he was recognized as Watford’s Young Player of the Season . He had not scored a goal all season but his performances in the last third were crucial as his club fought relegation from the league.
4. In 2006 Watford had accepted a takeover bid from West Ham United worth £10m but Young vetoed it as he did not want to join the club which would be embroiled in a Premier League relegation battle.
5. In January 2007 he agreed to move to Aston Villa after Watford accepted his £8m takeover bid (a further £1.65m in promised add-ons). This was the highest fee Aston Villa had paid for a player in their history.
6. He put in great performances as a winger in the 2007/08 season, finishing the season with 17 assists. He was only second to Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas.
7. In November 2008 he signed a four-year deal with Aston Villa to extend his stay at the club until 2012.
8. In 2008 he became the first player to win the Player of the Month award three times in one year in Premier League history.
9. In June 2011, Manchester United managed to beat Liverpool’s competition and sign Young from Aston Villa. Young signed a 5-year deal with the club and received Paul Scholes’ number 18 shirt.
10. In August 2015, he signed a contract extension with Manchester United, extending his contract with the club until June 2018. The club also had the option to extend his contract for another year.
11. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.