Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has reportedly decided to hand Ashley Young with the role of the club-captain with Antonio Valencia ending his association with the club. Valencia is scheduled to leave the Red Devils on a free transfer when his contract expires next month and Young seems to have got the nod for the captaincy after observing the role on numerous occasions during the 2018/19 campaign.

According to The Sun, Ole has decided to go with Young for the leadership duties with the expected departure of Valencia this summer. It is further added that Paul Pogba has only been afforded with the vice-captain role for the next campaign despite the fact that the midfielder stands the chance of being the captain for the long-term.

Young’s performances through the recent league campaign has come for criticism from the supporters with the England international often tending to vacate his defensive position without cover while struggling to provide sufficient crosses for the frontmen while taking the attack to the opposition.

As such, there have been claims that his gametime could be reduced next season and it will be interesting to see whether that will happen, considering he could be rewarded with the permanent captaincy role. United only managed a disappointing sixth spot during the recent league campaign and this has meant that they will be plying their trade in the Europa League next term.

Despite this, the board are likely to back Ole for a summer spending spree and reports indicate part of the kitty could be funded from proposed sales from the first-team squad. Romelu Lukaku, Matteo Darmian and Alexis Sanchez are among the high-profile players, who could be shown the exit door and the latter, in particular, has been a disappointment after barely making an impact following his big-money move from Arsenal last year.