Aston Villa: Lerner dash for Ashley Young
Posted Tuesday, April 05, 2011 by Dailystar.co.uk
ABOVE: Aston Villa's Ashley Young is sought by the Premier League’s big hitters
ASTON VILLA owner Randy Lerner has made a desperate personal bid to try to keep England star Ashley Young.
Aston Villa ace Ashley Young is on the radar of some of the Premier League’s big hitters, with Manchester United leading the chase.
The 25-year-old winger has one more season to run on his contract before he can leave the club on a free.
He has stalled on talks until the end of the season but American tycoon Lerner has taken the initiative.
He is understood to have pulled Young to one side and underlined how big a part he is of the club’s plans.
Villa will need to make Young the club’s highest-paid player by a mile or risk losing him for the first bid approaching £20m.
That’s double the £9.8m he cost from Watford but ambitious Lerner would rather have the player than the cash if he can persuade him to stay.
Veteran keeper Brad Friedel is in talks over a new contract which will keep him at the club for another year.
The 39-year-old looked certain to leave but could be persuaded to stay on according to his agent.
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