Manchester United manager, José Mourinho, has confirmed that Ashley Young could leave the club before Tuesday’s transfer deadline. Young was an unused substitute in United’s 4-0 home win against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
The 31-year-old joined Manchester United in 2011 from Aston Villa, and quickly established himself as a key player under Sir Alex Ferguson. He scored eight goals in his debut season under the former United manager. However, he hasn’t been able to replicate his form in the following years, and has often played as a make shift wingback. In total, he has scored 14 goals in 150 appearances for the club.
Young, who reportedly earns £110k per week at United, has struggled to establish himself in Mourinho’s first team this season, but the Portuguese insists he still wants to keep him in the side. The former Aston Villa winger is considering offers from other Premier League clubs, while he has also received an interest from Chinese Super League club, Shandong Luneng.
Mourinho said, as quoted by Sky Sports:
The only player that I am aware of a possibility to leave is Ashley Young – a player I would love to keep.
I am waiting for January 31 to know what is going on. I am not happy if he leaves, but he is the only player that I am informed has a possibility of leaving.
That is why he didn’t play and I gave chances to other people, because I don’t know if he is going to stay. If I could choose, definitely yes he would stay with us.
Mourinho also confirmed that German midfielder, Bastian Schweinsteiger, will stay at United. However, he refused to answer questions about Wayne Rooney’s possible move to China.
Rooney’s future has come under intense speculation in recent weeks, as the England skipper being linked with a record-breaking move to the Chinese Super League. It has been widely reported that Mourinho could approve Rooney’s move if there’s a concrete offer on the table.
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