Manchester United set to announce £17m signing of Ashley Young from Aston Villa

Ashley Young, Aston Villa (Getty Images)

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By Greg Stobart | Northern Correspondent

Manchester United are on the verge of completing a £17 million move for Aston Villa winger Ashley Young.

The England international underwent a medical at Manchester’s Bridgewater hospital on Wednesday and an official announcement could be made as early as Thursday.

Young, 25, had already agreed personal terms with United before going on holiday to Las Vegas earlier this month and is expected to sign a five-year contract with the Premier League champions.

He will leave Villa Park after four-and-a-half years at the Midlands club following his £9.65m switch from Watford, during which time he scored 30 Premier League goals.

A versatile forward who can play either wide or centrally, Young will provide a number of attacking options for United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is believed to have first made his interest known in January.

New Villa manager Alex McLeish admitted earlier this week that it was likely his star player would leave in the near future.

“It’s not confirmed yet but it does seem likely,” said McLeish. “In my humble opinion it will be very difficult to keep hold of him.”

Young’s imminent arrival at Old Trafford has already been welcomed by his new team-mates, with striker Michael Owen using Twitter to hail him as a ‘great signing’ for the club.

“I see Ashley Young has undergone a medical today. Let’s hope everything goes well as he would be a great signing for us,” Owen posted on the social networking site.

United beat off competition from bitter rivals Liverpool for Young, who has just one year remaining on his Villa contract and made it clear he wanted to play for a Champions League club.

He will become United’s second signing of the summer transfer window after the arrival of Phil Jones from Blackburn earlier this month in a deal that could eventually be worth up to £20.5m.

Jones was also a target for Liverpool but he also decided he would prefer to move to Old Trafford.

A deal is also in place for United to sign Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea, the Spain under-21 international, to succeed the retired Edwin Van der Sar.