Ashley Young set for Inter Milan move

Manchester United club captain Ashley Young is set to leave the side in the next few days.

The 34-year-old defender has been linked with a move to Inter Milan, Crystal Palace and Lazio over the past few weeks but now looks as if he will link up with Antonio Conte.

The Italian manager Conte reportedly tried to buy Young when he was at Chelsea a couple of seasons ago but remained at Old Trafford. He has been offered a year’s extension by his current club but instead has decided to try to force through a move.

Reports suggest that Young has attempted to force through a move by storming out of training, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s preference having been to keep the veteran at the club at least until the end of the season.

It now appears that United have relented over the desire of the player to leave, and Inter Milan have agreed to pay around £1.5 million to secure his early release, so he can join up with the club who are currently in the running for this season’s Serie A title.

United have used Ashley Young ahead of Luke Shaw for much of the season, and Shaw does not appear to have a long-term future at the club. With Young’s departure he is likely to remain for the rest of the season. The emergence of Brandon Williams has seen Young’s departure appear inevitable, and Diogo Dalot might now get more time on the pitch following his recovery from injury.

The club have also recalled Cameron Borthwick-Jackson from his loan spell at Tranmere Rovers, in England’s League One. However there is little to suggest that the 22-year-old defender has proven his potential since his brief run of appearances for Louis van Gaal in the 2015/2016 Premier League season.

Update:

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Young’s transfer is imminent:

“Well, to be fair, I think it was for Ashley, you know. He is 35 in the summer and, if he gets a two-year contract somewhere, I think it’s up to him to take that. We weren’t ready to offer that.

“He’s been a good servant for the club. He’s been captain and he’s won trophies, leagues, cups, but we’ve got players coming through.

“So it was time now, then. When Ashley’s head and mindset was on ‘yeah, I want to try this’, why not do it now?”

Young is in Milan for his medical with Inter.