Ashley Young has enjoyed an illustrious career playing for some huge clubs, but none bigger than Manchester United.
The wide forward joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2011 for a fee of £17million after leaving Aston Villa. He was the subject of intense interest from Liverpool at the time but opted for Manchester over Merseyside, which instantly made him a fan favourite at Old Trafford.
Inheriting Paul Scholes' number 18 shirt, the pressure was on Young to live up to the hype that greeted his signing. Looking back on his nine years at the club, it is fair to say he more than delivered. While never the star of the show, Young was a consistent performer for the bulk of his time at United, though performances did start to wane towards the end.
His versatility made him an attractive proposition for many United managers that came and went during his own time at the club. Young has played everywhere from up front under Louis van Gaal to full-back under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and did so while rarely complaining.
However, his frustration did get the better of him on one occasion. According to the Sun, mid-way through the 2019/20 captain Young had a furious verbal exchange with Solskjaer after storming down off the training pitch at Carrington and heading into the gym to work by himself.
Just a day prior, the pair had held talks over Young's future where the player is believed to have made crystal clear he wanted out to join Serie A titans Inter Milan. His outburst did not come without consequences, but ultimately got the ex-England international exactly what he wanted.
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Young, who was captain at the time, was exiled from the squad for games against Norwich and Wolves before being sold just days later. United managed to recoup a meagre £1.3million for his services.
Despite being written off by many as being over the hill, Young exceeded expectations at Inter and at the end of the 2020/21 season became just the third Englishman to win the league in Italy, after Jimmy Greaves and Gerry Hitchens.
His spell in the Italian capital didn't last for long and by the summer of 2021, Young was back at Aston Villa, a club close to his heart after he spent four years there from 2007 to 2011. His first season back at Villa Park went well enough for him to be rewarded with a second one-year deal, but that's as far as it has gone.
At 38 years old, many expected Young to hang up his boots for good. Instead, he is on the verge of sealing another Premier League switch, this time to Everton.
A move to Goodison Park will also see Young reunited with a former team-mate of his - Sean Dyche. It may seem unfathomable, but the pair were once on the same Watford side at contrasting stages of their respective careers.
Dyche has long been keen on a reunion with and tried to land the right-back's signature while he was still at the helm of Burnley but a deal failed to materialise. As a result of their mutual admiration, it is unlikely there will be any more training ground walk-outs from Young.
