Aston Villa midfielder Ashley young has praised Gerrard Houllier for bringing Darren bent to Aston Villa. Even though Bent did not score at the DW Stadium, his second game for the club, Young did and insisted that his team-mate has injected much-needed positivity into the team. “Darren hasn’t just taken weight off my shoulders, he has boosted everyone,” Young said.

“He is a quality signing and has shown in the first two games how well he can do for us. Darren is a great addition to the squad as well as Jean Makoun. The manager knew who he wanted to bring in in the window and he has done superb.

“It is always great to see players added to the squad. They have been great signings. Everybody knows Darren’s attributes and he has done well at all his previous clubs. I am sure he is delighted to be at Villa and we are delighted to have him. He has settled in really well. It feels like he has been here a long while.

New boss admits he won’t be able to keep Young at Villa Park but knows his first task will be to sort out Stewart Downing’s future at the clubAston Villa manager Alex McLeish has admitted he is resigned to losing Ashley Young over the summer, but the Scot is determined to hold onto Stewart Downing.

Young has been linked with a move away from Villa Park since the end of the season, with Manchester United his reported destination, and McLeish concedes he didn’t expect to be working with the forward next season.

“It’s not confirmed yet [Young’s transfer to Manchester United] but it does seem likely,” he told Talksport.

“In my humble opinion it will be very difficult [to keep hold of him].”

Ashley Young is being targeted by Liverpool as they believe that Aston Villa will accept a bid of around £25 million.

The England international’s contract expires next summer and his club would rather cash in on him now rather than allow him to move for free in 2012.

Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham are all thought to be interested in Young, which could help Villa achieve their asking price if a bidding war erupts.

The winger is likely to be keen on a move after the disappointing season Villa have endured, especially as he would be likely to improve on his current £65,000 per week deal.

Ashley Young has been urged by his Villa team-mates Marc Albrighton and Robert Pires to sign a new contract this summer.

Ashley Young has been in fine form for Villa this season and with his current deal set to expire in 16 months time Young has been linked with a move away.

Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool are among his admirers, although manager Gerard Houllier is keen to hold on to him.

Young has maintained that he will discuss his future in the summer and his colleagues are hopeful the 25-year-old will stay.

“I don’t know what is happening with Ashley but for me, he should stay at Villa,” said Pires. “It is important for Villa. Ashley is a very good player, he plays for the national team.

Ashley Young’s contract is going to end next season and Liverpool are planning to bring him to Anfield. Young, who scored in England’s 2-1 win against Denmark last week, has 17 months left on his contract and Villa are desperate for him to pledge his future to the club.

However, Liverpool and Manchester United remain keen to strike a £12m deal in the summer.Villa manager Gerard Houllier said: ‘He (Ashley Young) said he would talk about that at the end of the season and we will respect that. We know that some clubs could be interested in him but he could also be interested by Aston Villa.’

Fans have stopped buying Ashley Young Shirts in recent months, but would jump back right behind him if he was to commit his future to the club.

Liverpool and Manchester United are interested in signing Aston Villa player Ashley young. However with both the teams looking to move in for the player it appears as though the player might finally move to a team that he would be worthy of playing amongst. The only stepping stone in both the team’s way at the moment is the ridiculous price tag that has been slapped onto the player. Aston Villa’s manager Gerard Houllier has currently expressed his concern about the player’s future at the club and has stated that he is well aware of the threat that the other big teams possess at the moment, as a result the manager has slapped a hefty eighty million pound evaluation on the player.

Ashley Young however at the moment doesn’t seem to be in any rush to leave the team in the near future. He is currently looking to finally fit in amongst the talent of younger players that has seemed to flood Villa Park this season and he would be looking achieve something at the club finally.

That being said any interest that is shown clubs like Liverpool or United will have some negative effect to like other clubs will also want a look into the matter and the player will himself start to estimate his new value.

Houllier has said that Aston Villa will keep Ashley Young at the club, despite reports linking him to other clubs. Young, who has 18 months remaining on his deal, was on the verge of signing a new four-year contract in October. The improved deal would have given him a £500,000 annual pay rise and contained a clause that allowed him to leave Villa if a predetermined transfer fee was offered.

The former Watford player pulled out of signing at the last minute, however, and informed Villa he was not interested in returning to the negotiating table until the summer. With Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur showing interest, Ashley Young’s actions suggested he was keen to give himself the best possible chance of moving at the end of the season by reducing the fee Villa could demand for a player with only 12 months left on his soccer contract.

Ashley young is back from injury and is fit to face West Brom on Saturday. The on the field results have also been poor for Aston Villa, they have won just once in their last ten league games and have lost their last four games in all competitions. To be fair they have had their fair share of problems but are started to get back some of their senior players.

Emile Heskey is back from injury whilst Ashley Young returns from suspension whilst Barry Bannan is also fit to play, but Nigel Reo-Coker is still out with a knee problem despite his condition improving, but should be fit for Everton. Other players still on the long term injury list for Villa include Fabian Delph, Stylian Petrov and Steve Sidwell.

Aston Villa are set to miss the presence of Ashley young in the derby against Birmingham city. Young was nearly taken off by mistake when the assistant referee and the fourth official got confused by Villa’s double switch midway through the second half.

The England hopeful was wrongly summoned towards the dugout as Villa attempted to replace Barry Bannan and Robert Pires with Stiliyan Petrov and Stewart Downing. After the mix-up was rectified, Young stayed on, only to pick up his second booking and a ban which rules him out of the derby at St Andrew’s.

Villa will already be without Blues old boy Emile Heskey who is serving a three-match suspension after picking up a red card against Stoke City