Manchester United’s £16m deal to win EVEN MORE free-kicks and penalties

Manchester United’s £16m signing Ashley Young brings several key advantages to the team.

When Ferguson realised that you can’t buy a successor to Ryan Giggs for 3m (bye bye Obertain), nor can you force a right-sided winger (Nani), an ageing CAM (Park), a striker (Rooney), an OAP (Giggs) or a young defender (Fabio) to run up and down the wing and create chance after chance for United, he splashed the cash for Aston Villa’s Ashley Young.

United now have a specialist left-sided player, one who provides quality from set-pieces and cuts in from the left the same way Nani cuts in from the right, providing United with incisive pace and more match-turning ability.

Plus he seems to be a on a similar wavelength to Rooney and co – the advantage of bringing in a player at the right stage of their career, when they themselves want to improve for the football and not just chase the money. A good signing, and if he can combine well with the rest of the team for the whole season he will be a regular starter.

However, he’s also the Premier League’s most fouled player from the 2010/2011 season and the player to win the most penalties in the Premier League last season as well (leaving the likes of Charlie Adams and Cesc Fabregas, former midfield ‘generals’ now destined to sit on the bench of their new clubs, in the shade).

THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S MOST FOULED PLAYER

Ashley Young won 95 fouls last season in the Premier League, more than any other player. The winger also won more penalties than anyone else last season in the English top flight (five).

Most fouls won – Premier League 2010-11

Goals From Set Pieces in 2010/2011

Young’s addition was welcomed by United fans as he would provide much-needed accuracy from set-pieces – United have suffered in recent years, not scoring as many goals from corners or free kicks as their chance creation rates would warrant. Just last season, United scored only 17 goals from set pieces whereas Chelsea scored 24, even though United were the top scorers in the league in terms of goals scored. Young’s addition to the squad was there not only to provide genuine pace and craft on the left wing but to also help United score more from set pieces.

Now, it seems, he’ll be helping them WIN more free-kicks and penalties too. A bargain?

We’re not seriously suggesting that United bought Young in order to win more fouls. They already have the referees on their side, don’t they? No, we’re not seriously suggesting that either.