Gary Cahill impressed with Aston Villa’s Ashley Young following England displays: He looks at home on international stage

EURO 2012, Wales and England, Ashley Young and Danny Collins

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Gary Cahill has praised the development of his international team-mate Ashley Young since the two played together briefly at Aston Villa in 2007, having excelled for England over the last week.

Young started against Wales and Ghana and earned positive reviews for his performances in both matches, and it seems Cahill is very much a part of his fan club.

The Bolton star told The Independent: “You can see how much Ashley has developed even in the time from when I knew him at Villa.

“He looks at home on this stage now but, when you’ve got that ability, you can play on any stage.

“He gets into little pockets of space and his awareness is outstanding.

“I thought he was brilliant against Wales and he had another good game against Ghana. His general awareness is good and he is such a threat.”

The pair also played together at England Under-21 level, which is where Cahill really began to notice Young’s talents. 

He continued: “I sensed from Ashley’s early days that he was going to be a special player.

“I saw him in the Under-21s and he was fantastic in that.

“You could see then as a talent he was only going to get better, and that is what he has done.”

Cahill himself was making his first start for the national side on Tuesday against Ghana, and is pleased with his perforrmance during the 1-1 draw.

“I’d like to think after this performance, I’ve proved that I can play at this level,” he said.

“It is important for me to take my chances when given and it was good to get the first 90 minutes for my country under my belt.

“There is a lot of competition for my position and people more experienced than myself are in there.

“I’ll be patient and just look to take my chance when given.”