Young to United deal as good as done

Manchester United are set to unveil Ashley Young as their latest signing after the England winger underwent a medical at the club on Wednesday.

United’s pursuit of the Aston Villa forward has been known for some time and after a few relatively barren years in the transfer market by their standards (certainly in terms of big-money signings), they are expected to shell out £15 million for the 25-year old, only a couple of weeks after paying £16.5 million for central defender Phil Jones.

Unlike a lot of English players that have moved clubs recently, Young is probably worth that amount, although his price probably has a lot to do with the fact that his contract with Villa was due to expire at the end of next season.

Young is comfortable on either flank and can also operate as a centre forward, further increasing Sir Alex Ferguson’s options in attack, although many will argue that it is the centre of midfield that Fergie should be focussing on, given the schooling they received at the hands of Barcelona in the Champions League Final and the recent retirement of Paul Scholes.

As well as Young, United are also expected to spend big on Spanish under-21 goalkeeper David De Gea, seen as the natural successor to the retired Edwin Van der Sar. A fee in the region of £17 million is expected to be agreed for the Atletico Madrid netminder, taking United’s summer spending to around £50 million.

And they’re not likely to stop there. Bids for Luka Modric and Wesley Sneijder have also been mooted while Irish internationals John O’Shea and Darron Gibson are among a number of players set to leave the club in what is most certainly a transitional phase for the Red Devils.