England boss Roy Hodgson has revealed that injury was the main reason behind Ashley Young not being involved in the squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Slovenia.

It was rather surprising to see the Manchester United winger left out of the squad when Hodgson announced it a few weeks ago. After all, the 29-year-old had been in impressive form in the last six months of the campaign. At the start, manager Louis van Gaal was utilising the former Aston Villa man as a wing back. The discipline shown by Young in this position was rather surprising.

His renaissance comes at a time when his United career almost looked like being over after the club brought in Angel de Maria in the summer for £ 60 million. However, it turned out to be the death kneel for Nani and notYoung. Towards the end of the campaign,Young developed a spectacular partnership with the likes of Marouane Fellaini and Wayne Rooney to produce devastating performances. His best game in a United career came in the 4-2 win over Manchester City when two assists and a goal set up this victory. However, Hodgson says that the winger is no longer in top condition and that it was advisable to leave him out of the squad.

“We made soundings with the United medical department with regards to Ashley and they led us to believe there was a slight issue with him which does need to get cleared up over the summer.So on this occasion we decided it was probably not the right moment to ask him to come back.I certainly have not called time on his [England] career as far as I know, so we will see how it goes in the future. And I congratulate him on the latter part of the season with Manchester United, where he has played very well,” said Hodgson.

Manchester United are hitting form at just the right time in the season according to winger Ashley Young, who has been an integral part of this revival at Old Trafford.

United have managed to win the last five league matches and this has propelled them into a position from where they can even think about the Premier League title with almost 10 games remaining. Chelsea continue to remain as the favourites for the trophy, butUnited are becoming an ever-increasing threat along with Arsenal.Young appeared to be on the fringes of a United exit in the summer, but the experienced campaigner has become an integral part of the team.

Initially, he was used as the left wingback in place of Luke Shaw. Now, he is being used in his usual position of a left winger. He has formed an impeccable partnership with Marouane Fellaini in the left side of the midfield. The 29-year-old received the man of the match award in the recent 4-2 win over Manchester City. Apart from creating two goals, he also scored one himself. Even though top four was the primary objective at the start of the campaign, United’s good form could see them as unlikely title winners because of the run.

“It’s nice to be winning, but it’s about that momentum — especially when you are going into this vital stage of the season.United teams always come strong at this stage, and we are showing in every game just how strong we can be.It’s nice to go out and win games and control games too. You saw against Villa that we controlled it from the first whistle right until the end, not just in terms of possession but also getting in the box and having shots at goal,” said the former Aston Villa winger.

Unlike all the other managers in English Football, the Manchester United boss, Louis Van Gaal, does not like to laud his players that much even if they put in world class performances.

It’s hard to say whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but, sometimes, as a player, it can really do wonders to you if you play well and your manager wholeheartedly talks about your showing.

Take Ashley Young’s case for example. The veteran had been coping with a bit of a hard time in the last few seasons and then suddenly, this season, he has started cranking it up a little bit. Versus the Black Cats the previous week, he produced an absolute blinder of a show.

So, one would have supposed Van Gaal to come in pouring plaudits for the playmaker in the post match press conference, but, no, the Dutchman was pretty cold. He did acknowledge the fact that Young showed improvement, but, he refused to admit that the player was back to his best.

Van Gaal kept on emphasizing how important it was for Young and the other midfielders to work on the consistency.
Van Gaal has done his job as coach. He has worked hard on Young.

The manager should be credited for being flexible with the 30-year old by using him in different places and giving him the freedom to play the way he knows and he has got good response from Young, but, he is not satisfied.

He is a man of not many words, Van Gaal. People know that. It’s not that he does not speak at all. He does, but, he does not always go over the top. However, if he starts giving due praise to his players, it would help them a great deal.

During the time when David Moyes was in charge of Manchester United as the coach of the English club, the Scottish manager utilized Ashley Young on a regular basis.

After having gone through a disastrous time at Old Trafford, Moyes was sacked before even 1 year in charge and now Moyes has taken up a coaching position for Real Sociedad and the rumors are suggesting that Moyes wants to reunite with Ashley Young.

Ashley Young has been struggling with injuries but even when the English midfielder returns back to fitness, he is not expected to turn into a first choice player for Louis van Gaal who already has a wide variety of options available for him and things will turn even worse for Ashley Young after the January transfer window reaches its end as Louis van Gaal has already expressed his desire to sign a few more players.

One of the first things that David Moyes wants to do as the new coach of Real Sociedad is to strengthen his current squad and Ashley Young is on his wish-list. Taking into consideration that Real Sociedad is not a club that has a huge budget at their availability it’s expected that the Spanish will only offer to make a season long loan deal but if Ashley Young really does not play any important role in the plans of Louis van Gaal, the Dutch manager could release Young on a cut price deal.

Ashley Young is current earning €135,000 per week at Old Trafford and in order for a transfer to Real Sociedad on actually happening and working out, the English midfielder would also have to accept slash in his wages but he will certainly be getting guaranteed playing time with the Spanish club.

Manchester United have been showing a considerable improvement in form over the last few weeks.

This has seen them go unbeaten against the likes of West Brom, but Louis van Gaal’s team will be facing the biggest threat when they take on Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday. Ashley Young was a regular first-team player in the first few weeks of the campaign, but the return of Luke Shaw has forced him to settle for a place on the sidelines. He is unlikely to feature against Chelsea barring any new injuries for the Dutchman. Despite this, he is ready to contribute from the sidelines.

Young says that United go into the match with a lot of confidence and they will definitely be a force to reckon with once again. Chelsea have been the team to beat this season and they lead in the Premier League table with a considerable advantage over the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal. Even though they will be coming into the match without key players like Diego Costa and Loic Remy, they should have enough strength in depth in order to cope with those absentees. Didier Drogba, who has started in the last two matches, is likely to lead the attack. He has scored only one goal at Old Trafford previously in his career.

“I just want to play the best I can. The manager has shown faith in me and I want to go out there and play well.The injury was a setback. It’s disappointing for any player to get injured but I’m back fit now and I’m only looking ahead. I’m not looking back.The new manager has his methods and philosophy and everyone has bought into it. We’ve shown we can go into games and play different formations. We showed that again at West Brom,” said Young.

The opening match of the season for Hull City was a positive game as they clinched a narrow 1-0 triumph over Queens Park Rangers; it was just the way that Steve Bruce and his squad wanted to kickoff this season of the Premier League. A great start for a club that just barely managed to stay afloat and survive for another season in the top tier League in England.
That triumph has been the only one that Hull City has claimed so far, everything else from there has only been draws and defeats. Despite not being able to replicate another victory, Steve Bruce remains positive and seems to be fairly happy about what his squad has managed to do in these 6 Premier League matches which have been played.
“Six points doesn’t really do our start justice. We could have done with another four or five but that’s the Premier League. I suppose every manager is saying what if we’d done this or that, because it’s fine margins. I do feel we are better. The squad is better in depth but we’ve got a long, long way to go. We’ve got a huge game against Crystal Palace next Saturday, so we have to stay positive.” Hull City’s manager Steve Bruce said.
Hull City is currently located at the bottom of the Premier League standings but has managed on scoring 9 goals out of the 6 Premier League matches played, the real problem that Hull City is suffering from is the defensive section as they have a total of 11 goals.
Steve Bruce will be looking to improve the defensive department of his squad during the January transfer window by bringing in new players that can upgrade that area and help out the squad and stop them from conceding so many goals.

Ashley Young can be given a new breath of life at Manchester United after manager Louis van Gaal said that the former Aston Villa man is someone who will fit extremely well into the 3-5-2 formation that he is going to use at the club. The Dutchman was recently appointed as the replacement for David Moyes and he has straightaway changed the formation of the club, which has probably remained constant for the last two decades. United will be playing in the same formation as the one adopted by the Dutch in the World Cup 2014.
However, Van Gaal is unlikely to be without left back Luke Shaw, who could be the new wingback at the club. Due to the lack of options, the manager is likely to use Young as the replacement for the first few weeks of campaign. Shaw was signed from Southampton for around £ 30 million but he is set to miss the next four weeks due to a hamstring injury. Young has been a winger throughout his career, but he appears to have taken a step backward in the last few years since moving to United. The constant allegations of simulation certainly has not helped his case, but Van Gaal’s latest comments could hint at a new start for the England international.
“Ashley Young is a winger, but he is another type who can play wing-back and he did very well against Roma. He can play left and right side, but we shall see,” said the manager during pre-season. “It’s been good to play in the different positions. I can play in both wing-back positions and if the manager calls on me to do something I’ve got every confidence in myself,” said the player himself about his ability to be versatile across the pitch and help the team.

Arsenal has been quite active in the transfer market recently. They have already made a few signings and a few more are on the cards.

Those who are following Arsenal’s transfer activities closely would have realized that this time around, for some reason, they are going just for the players who have a big reputation in the game already.

Sanchez’s deal has been secured by the Gunners, while, Mathieu Debuchy’s deal is on the verge of getting finalized.

Now, Arsenal is looking for a midfielder who can play in a defensive role quite effectively. Lars Bender was supposed to be on the Gunners’ radar for that position, but, recently, a new name has popped up in the form of the German international Sami Khedira.

Khedira, who is presently a part of the European Cup Champions Real Madrid, is indeed a big name in the game. There is no doubt about his potential. But, he is not the fittest bloke in the world and his attitude can be very languid at times. These are the reasons why he is a bit underrated in Spain.

The second thing is his age. He is not a young man by any means and in the last 12 months, the way he has played, it seems he has started to go in the downward direction.

Obviously, whenever you are to make a new signing, you see if the player you are going for is good enough to fulfil your needs or not and Khedira ticks that box as he is definitely the kind of midfielder that the Gunners need, but, can he become a better player than he currently is? Or have his best days already passed? The Arsenal management will have to think about that too.

Borussia Dortmund has thwarted the advances of both Manchester United and Barcelona by insisting star winger Marco Reus is not for sale at any price this summer.

The Germany international had been linked with a big money move to premier League giants Arsenal as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid throughout last summer, but according to reports, new United boss Louis van Gaal is keen on adding the speedy German to the side as he looks to completely reinvent the look of the team after the disastrous results of last season.

It was recently reported that Reus, who has a contract with Dortmund until the summer of 2017, had agreed personal terms regarding a move to Barcelona. The Spanish giants are also set for a complete overhaul of the squad after failing to win a trophy last season with new manager Luis Enrique eager for some fresh faces.

But it is Manchester United and Louis van Gaal who hold the most interest in the German, who is set to miss the World Cup after suffering an ankle injury in a recent friendly match.

According to Michael Zorc, the sporting director at Borussia Dortmund, said that there is no way that the team will sell Reus this summer, no matter what the price offered for him.

Reus reportedly has a buyout clause of just £ 30 million but that will be triggered only after the conclusion of the 2014/15 season, which leaves Manchester United sweating it out to come to terms over a price for the player.

Although they plan to spend upwards of £ 200 million net this summer for a complete overhaul of the squad, paying over the odds for Reus is not on the agenda and they might have to turn to some alternative options to boost the side.

Manchester United winger Ashley Young has stated that the club is extremely disappointed after yet another home defeat – this time at the hands of Sunderland. United have had a season to forget, which resulted in the club sacking their first manager in several decades. David Moyes lost his job after just 10 months in charge of the club. Ryan Giggs was placed does the interim manager and he began life in his first managerial job in impressive fashion after winning 4-0 against Norwich. The positive aspect did not last long, as United were brought back to earth after a 1-0 defeat against Sunderland.

This was the seventh home defeat of the season for the club, which is simply not good enough for one of the world’s biggest clubs according to Young. The former Aston Villa may have been in disappointing fashion this campaign. In previous years, he has been heavily criticised for simulation. This year, he has virtually created nothing for his teammates. This has been the case with a lot of the midfielders at United. As a result, the club are expected to significantly strengthen in this position. The midfielder stated that the players are extremely disappointed with this result but he is hoping that the new season promises much better.

“I think the way we started the game, we looked on top. We knew how Sunderland would set up with men behind the ball, and that they would try to get us on the counter attack. It was disappointing to see them score that goal, and there’s a lot of disappointment in our dressing room. I don’t think we actually had a clear-cut chance. It was one of those games where if one had gone in, we would have scored more,” said Young. Sunderland ensured their safety in the league following this win.