Aston Villa coach hopes Ashley Young will stay

Aston Villa coach Gary McAllister is hopeful January signings will convince club’s most prized asset, Ashley Young to remain at Villa Park.

The club owners signaled their ambition by splashing out on Darren Bent and Jean II Makoun in January, and McAllister believes that will be enough to convince Ashley Young to extend his contract.

“The conversations with the chairman and the manager were along the lines that nobody Gerard Houllier wants to keep is leaving. Simple as that.

“Come the end of the season, we just need to wait and see what happens then.

“But throughout the transfer window, there was nobody the manager wanted to keep being allowed to leave.”

“Right across the board, the players are very powerful. It’s not a case of players abusing that system. But in the past it was the owners and it has shifted now.

“Will it be a triumph to keep Young next season? Absolutely and hopefully by the signings we have made, we can convince our top players to want to be here.

“That is what the manager and chairman are searching to do. They want us to be competitive right at the top end of the league.”

[Source: The Mirror]