Interview: Ashley Young

Ashley Young's emergence this season as one of the most dangerous attacking weapons in the Premier League and his new-found status among Fabio Capello's favourite forwards meant the 26-year-old spent Manchester United's UEFA Champions League win over Otelul Galati enjoying a well-earned rest.

Sir Alex Ferguson was saving his £17million summer signing ahead of Sunday's clash with Manchester City. But Young is aware his life could have been a lot different. He might not have been using his time looking forward to participating in one of the most intriguing derbies in decades.

United's new No.18's career could have been over before it started when, as a teenager, he was initially rejected by Watford. But he displayed the determination of a player who would go on to make the step from Football League to Premier League, earn international recognition and an eventual move to one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"When I was 16, I got told that I wasn't going to be offered a full-time scholarship," Young told skysports.com the morning after watching United's victory in Romania. "I was told I could go back part-time and go work where I grew up. For a kid at 16, to hear that, it is obviously disappointing. But I had the choice to go back or leave the club. I had been there since I was 10, so I just wanted to show them that they had made a mistake. Luckily, I think that was a turning point in my life and I have never looked back since. Within a year, I was offered a professional contract."

Young knows the significance of what was essentially a second chance at Vicarage Road. He made his first-team debut in September 2003 under Ray Lewington, who now works as Fulham's Academy technical director. The then 18-year-old did not disappoint and scored as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Millwall in what was then Division One. Young maintains a soft spot for Watford.

"I still speak to people who are there who I grew up with and played alongside," he said. "I still speak to some of the staff as well. I was there from when I was 10 to 21, so it always has a place in my heart."

One hundred and one league appearances later and having helped Watford to promotion to the Premier League, Young moved to Aston Villa in the January of 2007. Martin O'Neill had been determined to get his man and paid just short of £10m to win what had been a fierce bidding war involving a number of clubs.

Young's combination of livewire pace, goalscoring and creativity meant he was a rare commodity. He also had ambitions of his own and the move to Villa Park was designed with an eye to competing at the highest level. Those targets were never truly realised.

Young's move to United became inevitable, as his contract approached its conclusion and some critics suggested he lacked commitment and desire in his final months with Villa.

"I joined the club and said I wanted to be playing in Europe and challenging for titles," Young explained of his time in the Midlands. "I never had a frustrating time there. I had a great five years. Obviously we had some great times and some not-so-great times. But you have that throughout your football career.

"Every time I put on an Aston Villa shirt, I gave 110 per cent and wanted to go out there and win. In three seasons (2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10) we finished sixth and the season before last (2009/10) we were in the final of the Carling Cup and the semi-finals of the FA Cup. So I had some great times there and I would never say anything frustrated me."

Young's move to United on a five-year contract became one of the worst kept secrets in football. Liverpool was a possible destination, "there was interest, but nothing materialised". However, Old Trafford was his priority. The chance to work under Sir Alex Ferguson at a club who had just won a record-breaking 19th league title and had reached a third Champions League final in four years, which included lifting a third European Cup in 2007/08, was too tempting.

"You just look at the club's history and the titles they have won," said Young. "I am an ambitious person and I wanted to win titles and play in the biggest competitions. Obviously United are winning Champions Leagues and playing in Champions Leagues every year. For me, it was a no-brainer.

"The manager, as well, the players, I just wanted to go there straight away and stamp my authority. The day I signed was a great moment for me and I wanted to get straight into pre-season training and get the ball rolling."

He continued: "You feel the difference from the time you sign for United. We went on a pre-season tour of America. Every stage that we went to, it was fantastic the amount of fans that were there cheering. United, as a club, is global. Everybody around the world knows about the club."

Young may believe he has 'not looked back' since first becoming a professional at Watford. But his impact at United surely ranks as an equally integral step. His form since moving to Old Trafford has blossomed for both club and country.

He smashed two sensational goals in the 8-2 humiliation of Arsenal and also scored the crucial last-gasp equaliser to rescue United from an embarrassing home defeat to Basel in the Champions League.

At the same time, England boss Capello has been raving about a player who he previously left out of his 2010 World Cup squad. Young has this season found the winner against Wales at Wembley and headed the opener in the 2-2 draw with Montenegro which booked a place at Euro 2012. He is becoming the man for the big occasion.

"I am extremely happy with how things have gone," Young said of his time to date at United. "It is an easy place to settle. There is a great team spirit and they welcomed me with open arms. I knew a few of the players who have played with England, so it was easier. You go into training every day with a smile on your face.

"From the time I signed, I said it (playing with United) was going to be a challenge. For me, as a player, I always want to challenge myself at the highest level. Being able to do that at the biggest club in the world, there was no thinking of who I was going to sign for. It was always going to be United for me."

It is easy to forget Young is now four years short of his 30th birthday. It does not seem long since he was a teenage star at Watford and perhaps joining United at a later stage in his career has proved beneficial. To some extent, he has gone unnoticed and he is now in the peculiar position of hitting his peak at the same time as being one of United's elder statesmen.

Young is older than established United first-teamers Wayne Rooney and Nani. But he also has at least two years' extra experience than the next generation of Phil Jones, David de Gea, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Anderson, Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez. Ferguson will consequently expect him to represent a role model. Young, though, knows he can also learn from the likes of experienced team-mates Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand or captain Nemanja Vidic.

"At 26, the only thing young about me is just my name," he joked. "That's what I keep telling people. The players that have come through, the likes of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Wells (Welbeck) and Clevs (Cleverley), have done brilliant for us this season. They will continue to improve and learn. All of them want to learn in training and want to be the best they can be.

"There are experienced players at United they can look up to. Any time the experienced players talk to you, they have been there, they have done it. You know if you need advice, they are always willing to talk to you. I'm sure for them (the experienced players), and even myself, it is fantastic for the club as a whole to see the youngsters coming through and doing so well."

But the long-term future can wait. On the immediate horizon is Sunday's derby with City. Roberto Mancini's men will make the short trip to their bitter rivals still stinging from throwing away a two-goal lead in the 3-2 Community Shield defeat at Wembley in August, when Young played the full 90 minutes and his free-kick set up Smalling to spark United's comeback. However, bankrolled by the Abu Dhabi wealth of owner Sheikh Mansour, City will also arrive at Old Trafford unusually sitting above United with a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

"Obviously they are a major force now with the spending power they have had and the players they have been able to bring in," said Young. "But we are not concentrating on City, we concentrate on ourselves. Going out there on Sunday, we know it is going to be a tough game. But, as long as we go out there and play as well as we have been doing this season, I'm sure we can get the three points that we will deserve."

If the hype is to be believed, the match is a chapter in a new order of the Premier League - a new phase of Manchester dominance. Young, though, remains focused.

"There has been a lot of talk about the two futures of the teams and the way things have gone this season," he said. "They are saying it is going to be us (United and City) for the title race. But there other clubs involved - the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. There are a few teams fighting for the title.

"But I think everybody affiliated to United wants to win that title for the 20th time, which would be fantastic. That is not just players, that is staff as well. As soon as I signed for United, I had that winning mentality. You get that drummed into you straight away. Even in training, everybody wants to win and you just hate losing. It is going to be a tough test come Sunday, but everybody is looking forward to it."