Man United to kick off summer spending with £20m swoop for England star Young



By Mel Henderson

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will this week sign England international star Ashley Young from Aston Villa in a £20million deal.



Villa have reluctantly allowed the ambitious winger to move on in his quest to play regularly on the biggest stage, the Champions League.



On the move: England international Young is set to complete his £20m move to Old Trafford

The deal for the 25-year-old ace, who has only one more year of his Villa Park contract to run, is set to be finalised in the next 48 hours.



Young, whose value has more than doubled since he moved to the Midlands from Watford in January 2007, has agreed a four-year contract at Old Trafford.



On target: The Villa winger scored in England's 2-2 draw with Switzerland on Saturday

He scored 39 goals in 193 games for Villa and has netted twice in 15 appearances for the senior England side, the latest coming on Saturday when he was a half-time substitute in the Euro 2012 qualifier and netted the second equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Switzerland at Wembley.



Young has been coveted by Liverpool and Manchester City but has set his heart on joining the ranks at Old Trafford, where Ferguson sees him as successor on the wing to Ryan Giggs. His arrival could lead to the departure of Nani, who is wanted by Serie A side Juventus.



Ferguson likes Young's pace and versatility - he is able to play on either flank or as a second striker.

