ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:ASTON VILLA will not countenance selling Ashley Young when the transfer window reopens next month and are so determined to prolong the England international's spell at the club they have refused to rule out the possibility of allowing him to run down his contract and leave on a free transfer in 18 months' time.
Although Villa would ideally like to avoid that scenario, the club are prepared to give serious consideration to Young seeing out his deal if he refuses to sign improved terms when they seek to resurrect new contract talks in the summer.
There is a school of thought within the club that another 12 months of Young’s services could be much more valuable than the significantly reduced transfer fee they would receive for him at the end of this season. Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are known to be interested in Young, who fuelled speculation about his long-term future at Villa when he broke off contract talks in October.
Young pulled out of signing at the last minute after months of discussions culminated in him agreeing terms on a new four-year deal that would have given him a significant salary rise – he is already the highest-paid player at the club – and included a clause allowing him to leave for a pre-determined fee.
Although several clubs are expected to try to capitalise on Young’s situation when the transfer window reopens, a senior figure at Villa has made it clear there is no chance their most influential player will be sold next month. Randy Lerner, Villa’s owner, is anxious to dispel the idea his ambitions have changed in the wake of Martin O’Neill’s resignation as manager in August, and he has no intention of allowing Young to leave when he is deemed to be vital to the side’s prospects.
Whether Young can be convinced to return to the negotiating table and commit his future to Villa, however, remains in doubt. This looks like being a transitional season for Gerard Houllier’s side, who are only four points above the Premier League’s relegation zone and 11 points adrift of the top four.
With sources close to Young suggesting he is keen to test himself in the Champions League after three seasons of finishing in the top six, Villa might struggle to satisfy his ambitions. Young, who is injured after suffering medial ligament damage in training last week, joined Villa from Watford for €11.5 million four years ago.
He excelled in his first full season at the club and named as the Professional Footballers’ Association Young Player of the Year. After struggling to recapture that form last season, Young was left out of England’s World Cup squad but has since returned to the international set-up and featured in the 2-1 defeat by France at Wembley last month.
Elsewhere, David Beckham wants to play for a European club this winter in a bid to win back his England place, the midfielder has revealed. Beckham has spent the last two winters on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy at AC Milan but accepts that move will not happen again – and he has ruled out all Premier League clubs apart from Manchester United.
The 35-year-old, who last night received the BBC sports personality’s lifetime achievement award, said: “I won’t be going back to AC Milan this time because is not possible to go onto the roster for such a short length of time. But I will be going back somewhere as I want to keep myself fit and keep myself in with a chance of getting called up for England again. To do that, I have to be somewhere so fingers crossed I can sort something out.”
Beckham, whose Major League season with the Galaxy does not begin again until March, has trained with Arsenal in the past to regain his fitness but he will resist offers to play for any other Premier League club apart from United, and he concedes the chances of that are remote.
He added: “I have always missed playing in the Premier League since I left it almost eight years ago . . . Maybe one day I will come back here but I have always said that it will only be for Manchester United. I am not holding my breath on that one, but we will have to wait and see.”
Beckham has not played for England since suffering a torn Achilles tendon in March that kept him out of the World Cup, but he made a successful return for the Galaxy.
Former Israel and Liverpool defender Avi Cohen was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in Tel Aviv yesterday.
Cohen, 54, the father of Tamir Cohen of Bolton Wanderers, was involved in a collision with a car, was thrown from his motorcycle and suffered severe headwounds, a paramedic who treated him at the scene said.
Cohen was the first Israeli to play in England, signing for Liverpool in 1979. He made 24 appearances, scoring one goal in the match against Aston Villa which secured his club the 1979-80 league title. He also scored an own-goal in the same game.
* Guardian Service
