• Tottenham line up January bid for Aston Villa star

    Ashley Young in action for Aston Villa

    Tottenham are already plotting their next move for Ashley Young after they failed to sign the Aston Villa winger during the summer transfer window.

    Harry Redknapp has been chasing the England international for more than a year but Spurs could not agree a deal with Villa following Martin O'Neill's shock departure last month.

    Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had proposed a swap deal involving Ireland captain Robbie Keane, but the clubs could not agree a transfer once Villa had no permanent manager.

    Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier is set to be appointed as the new Villa manager on Wednesday and he will have to brace himself for a renewed bid from Spurs for his prize asset.

    The Londoners did not make a serious push for Young in the final days of the transfer window as they knew Villa would not sell, but they are now lining up a huge January move.

    Tottenham are willing to pay up to £22m for Young and hope to use striker Keane and midfielder Jermaine Jenas as part of the deal.

    Levy has indicated to Young's representatives that he would be willing to match his current £65,000-a-week salary on a five-year contract.

    Young, 25, is interested in the move because of the lure of Champions League football and a return to London, but the former Watford man will demand a payrise.

    Redknapp believes Welsh star Gareth Bale's long-term future is at left back, and wants Young to enhance his attacking options, which already include the likes of Rafael Van der Vaart, Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric.

    Young signed for Villa from Watford in January 2007 in a deal worth a total of £9.65m and has been a huge hit in the Midlands.

    He is currently with the England squad preparing for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland on Tuesday night after earning his ninth international cap as a second-half substitute against Bulgaria last Friday.

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Comments

Comment by bulbulamir posted Wednesday, September 8, 2010 - 13:50

I agree with SpursMilan, and I agree that Villa probably wouldn't want both Keane and Jenas (maybe not either of them). We don't need young, we need defensive cover and a top class striker. Charlie is limited - no pace, poor passer and doesn't tackle much - and Benny is a moody git who could be brilliant most of the time but who treats football as just a job not a passion. Woodgate's career might be over, King is chronically seriously injured and Dawson is crocked. Gallas and Bassong is not a central defensive partnership to rely on.


Let Bentley, Hutton, O'Hara, Jenas and Keane go, maybe even Dos Santos (although I feel he hasn't had a fair chance). Until we get a top striker, we have to keep Pav. Then go shopping for proven class. It's the only way we have a chance of competing for fourth again, which we might not achieve this season if the Champions League affects the team like the Young Boys match seemed to do.


Comment by paulm posted Wednesday, September 8, 2010 - 13:31

we need a top class central defender. plus corluka runs like he has a brush shaft up his back. hutton was great for scotland and should be given a go


Comment by SPURSMILAN posted Wednesday, September 8, 2010 - 03:32

I think the 3rd from last paragraph illustrates why this is unlikely to happen:


"wants Young to enhance his attacking options, which already include the likes of Rafael Van der Vaart, Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric"


You can also add Kranjcar and obviously Bale to that mix, maybe even Dos Santos. I can't see us spending £20m, including either Jenas or Keane (a it won't be both of them), on a player who we don't really need and where there is plenty of competition.


We need to buy a 1-2 top quality strikers and get rid of Keane and Pavyluchenko. Selling fringe players like Bentley, Jenas, Hutton, O'Hara, will also enable us to pay big money for those strikers.


Depending on how Sandro develops and how much game time he gets, I'd also suggest a top quality DM, someone like Lassana Diarra, who can tackle and keep the ball, unfortunately Palacios isn't the player we need, especially in Europe


Comment by chav19 posted Wednesday, September 8, 2010 - 01:09

Class act, would be great at The Lane!


Comment by Nosta Lavil posted Friday, September 10, 2010 - 15:09

Hope Young doesn't go.We already are going to miss Milner and if Young goes that's probably our 2 best players of recent seasons gone.Maybe the fact that he is an Arsenal fan will put him off!