Ashley Young signs new one-year contract extension at Aston Villa

Ashley Young has signed a new one-year deal with Aston Villa after out-of-favour winger Trezeguet completed his move to Turkish champions Trabzonspor.

Young rejoined Villa last summer after being released by Inter Milan and though Steven Gerrard was not in charge at the time, the Villa boss remains keen to keep his former England team-mate as part of the squad.

Having secured the signings of Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos and Robin Olsen early in the transfer window, Villa’s thoughts have turned to moving on fringe players, with Trezeguet’s anticipated return to Turkish football now sealed, for about £4.5million.

Last month, Matt Targett joined Newcastle for about £16m after a successful loan spell at the club.

Young’s versatility, as well as his experience, are highly valued by Gerrard as he tries to improve the mentality within his squad.

Backed by billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, Villa believe they can break into the Premier League’s elite under Gerrard in the medium term.