Ashley Young willing to stay at Villa
Thursday 23rd September 2010, 11:30AM BST.
Villa and new manager Gerard Houllier have received a major boost after Carling Cup hero Ashley Young confirmed he is willing to commit his future to the club.
Young, who scored twice in two minutes to hand Villa a 3-1 third round win over Blackburn last night, is contracted to the club until summer 2012 and talks have been ongoing over extending his stay.
Tottenham have been long-term admirers of England star, who is Villa’s top earner on £65,000 a week, but the 25-year-old is eager to be part of Houllier’s new regime.
He said: “I’ve always said that I’m willing to sign a new deal. If it comes along then I’ll be delighted to sign.
“When things change at a club you are looking forward to a new regime, with the new manager coming in who has his own way of thinking.”
A jubilant Houllier hailed super-sub Emile Heskey’s decisive contribution as the Frenchman’s reign got off to a winning start.
Heskey’s 58th-minute introduction proved the turning point, levelling the scores with his first touch before playing a part in both of Young’s strikes.
Houllier said: “I know what he can do. I saw a few things in training which indicated he was in good form. With Emile it is a matter of confidence, like all strikers.
“He knows I like him. Emile came with the right attitude. Maybe it’s another challenge for him to win the heart of the fans again.
“They were good because when we were 1-0 down, they kept supporting us.”
Houllier still hopes to have Gabby Agbonlahor (calf) and Ciaran Clark (dead leg) available to face Wolves on Sunday despite the pair limping off.
The draw for the fourth round of the Carling Cup takes place on Saturday morning. Wolves, Albion, Villa and Birmingham are all in the hat.
UK Sport
Latest Blog — A week is a long time in football
This time last week we were staring down the barrel, third from bottom with a worse record than at the same stage last year, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
Saddlers Blog
Business Awards
Book a Business Awards table
Join our celebrations of the region's best in business on Thursday March 22 - book your table now
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
expressandstar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
