Former Man United player Ashley Young is set to complete his medical at Everton to become Sean Dyche’s first signing at Goodison Park.
The 38-year-old is close to joining as a free agent after his contract with Aston Villa expired this summer. Everton are hoping to sign Young in time for him to join the squad for their pre-season tour.
A medical has reportedly been booked for Tuesday as both parties have already agreed the terms of his contract. The deal is set to be a one-year contract with an option to extend for a further year.
Young has reportedly rejected other offers from around Europe and also the Championship in favour of joining the Toffees.
The winger-turned-full-back has previously played for Watford and Inter as well but spent most of his career at Man United where he won the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and a League Cup.
The Englishman started out as a winger playing on either flank but was converted into a full-back later on in his career by former United manager Louis Van Gaal. He often featured on both ends of a back-four or even as a wing-back in a back-five.
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This switch gave him a new lease of life and even revived his international career. Young made a total of 39 appearances for the Three Lions and was a crucial feature in the 2018 FIFA World Cup as a left-back for England.
Young was even appointed as United’s club captain in 2019 while cementing his place as a solid left-back but left the club in January of 2020 and headed to Inter. He went on to lift the Serie A title in the same season, becoming only the 3rd Englishman to do so.
He has 422 Premier League appearances and would bring plenty of experience to the Everton squad that has struggled to survive in the Premier League for the last two seasons.
Young started 23 games for Villa last season but his contract was not renewed after 2 seasons in his second spell at Villa Park after new manager Unai Emery did not have the veteran in his plans.
While mostly utilised as a full-back, Young has still played in 7 different positions on the pitch in the past two seasons and hence could prove to be an effective squad player for Sean Dyche.
