Ashley Young simply aiming to be the best, though whether that's at Aston Villa is another matter

Ashley Young simply aiming to be the best, though whether that's at Aston Villa is another matter
Fourteen times Ashley Young was offered the chance to resolve his future at Aston Villa and 14 times he chose not to. From a Villa supporter’s view, all the hints he dropped were the wrong ones.
Ashley Young
Staying or going? Ashley Young says he will consider his Villa Park future at the end of the season Photo: ACTION IMAGES
Sandy Macaskill
By Sandy Macaskill 11:00PM BST 09 Apr 2011

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Yes, he is happy to be linked with bigger clubs, yes, he is ambitious. Yes he wants to play in the Champions League. About the only consolation is that the forward does not think that Villa will be relegated this season.

“I’ve always said when it comes to it, we are going to talk about contracts at the end of the season and that has not changed,” the 25 year-old said. “I’m concentrating on everything that is going on out there on the pitch. My focus is fully on doing well for Villa and getting ourselves out of the situation we find ourselves in.”

Even those at the club believe Young will be off to pastures new at the end of the season. With just one year left on his contract, he has already moved out of his local home and found himself a new agent, hardly signs of a player preparing to commit himself to his club.

Yet Young insists that he is not preparing the ground for departure.

“There is nothing going on in the background. I’m just concentrating on football and I think my performances have been good.” Young believes that he is doing the club and fans a favour by refusing to get distracted by discussions about his future, and says he has the support of the club’s owner Randy Lerner in that. “I think I’m doing the right thing by going out every week and doing as well as I can.