As Manchester United welcome Aston Villa to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, there will be a couple of players going up against their old sides.
United academy graduate Kieran Richardson may be lining up for the opposition at the weekend, whilst the Reds’ Ashley Young could be involved against the side from which he was signed back in 2011.
Richardson hasn’t had the best of campaigns for Villa this term and Young would have hoped to show more for United this term as well, although he has been seriously restricted by injuries of late.
Whilst Richardson was more of a squad player during his time at Old Trafford, Young was one of the stars of an exciting Villa side just a few years ago.
The Englishman signed for Villa in January 2007 from Watford for £8 million, after helping the Hornets to promotion in the previous campaign and making a promising start to life in the Premier League.
Young immediately repaid the faith then Villa boss Martin O’Neill had shown to sign him by scoring on his debut, but it was in the following campaign that the Englishman began to make a serious impact for his new club.
The winger had an extremely impressive first full season for Villa, as he scored eight goals and provided 17 assists for the club to help his side to a sixth-place finish, earning him a place in the Premier League’s team of the year.
He was deservedly called up to the England squad at the beginning of that campaign and made his international debut in the November of that season, too.
Having won the player of the month award in April of that season, Young continued his form into the following campaign and won the award again in September and December, making him the first player to win the award three times in one year.
The now England international had developed a reputation for himself as one of the best attacking talents in the League. Although cutting in from the left wing onto his favoured right foot had become an obvious trait in his game, Young continued to curl devastating crosses and shots towards goal for his team to good effect.
The 2008/09 season was another impressive one for Young, this time scoring nine goals and providing a still impressive total of nine assists. It was becoming clear that the left winger was one of the main threats of the Villa side on the left wing.
And whilst Young carried his form into the 2009/10 campaign, even being on the winning side at Old Trafford in the November of that season, Aston Villa eventually saw their form dip in the closing months of the season to end their hopes of qualifying for the Champions’ League.
Young probably wasn’t quite as good in the 2010/11 season as Villa finished in 9th position, but had seen his role in the side change slightly. Appointed as vice-captain at the beginning of the campaign and then being rotated across the front three positions, it was perhaps little surprise that the Englishman’s form suffered slightly.
However, he had clearly already done enough in previous campaigns to alert the Premier League’s bigger sides, as the 2010/11 season was to be Young’s last playing for Aston Villa.
His move to United in the summer of 2011 was not well received by Villa fans, but the Englishman had made a significant contribution to the club in his four and a half years there, scoring 30 goals in 157 appearances.
Young’s role at United is different to the one he enjoyed at Villa, with the England international perhaps now carrying less of a goal threat for the Reds. However, he consistently shows an excellent work ethic and has become a more versatile player as a result.
His passion and commitment to the club have never been in question, qualities which have made Young a highly valued player at United and an increasingly popular figure amongst supporters.
