Ashley Simon Young (born 9 July 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Premier League club Everton.

In January 2007, he transferred to Aston Villa for an initial fee of £8 million where he won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2009.

In 2020, Young signed for Inter Milan, with whom he won the Serie A title, becoming only the third Englishman to win Italy's top flight league.

[17] Young was included in the Premier League Team of the Year, and apart from Portsmouth's David James, was the only other player who did not come from any of the 'Big Four' (Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United) to make it into the best XI of the season.

Young won two penalties in the first half of the match (one that he missed, the other that was converted by James Milner) as Aston Villa were eliminated from the tournament on the away goals rule.

Young scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season with a direct free-kick in the Premier League match at home to Bolton Wanderers on 18 September 2010.

"[25] On 23 June 2011, Young completed a move to Manchester United for an undisclosed fee, reportedly around £17 million,[26] having passed a medical the day before, beating Liverpool to the signing.

[29] He made his debut for United in a 3–2 derby win over Manchester City in the 2011 FA Community Shield, playing the full 90 minutes and making an assist.

Young made his debut in the UEFA Champions League on 27 September 2011, scoring a headed goal in the 90th minute to help Manchester United to a 3–3 draw against Basel.

On 4 March 2012, Young scored two goals and made an assist against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in a 3–1 Premier League win.

[33] After playing the position in pre-season, Young started in Louis van Gaal's first competitive game on 16 August 2014 as a wing-back in a 3–5–2 formation, which saw United lose 2–1 to Swansea City.

[41] On 7 August 2015, Young signed a new three-year contract with Manchester United, keeping him at the club until June 2018, with the option to extend a further year.

[46] On 2 January 2016, Young assisted Anthony Martial with a cross into the box to open the scoring against Swansea City, with the game ending in a 2–1 win for United.

[48] He made his return on 10 April against Tottenham Hotspur, replacing Marcus Rashford at half time, playing upfront in a 3–0 defeat.

[49] The decision to play Young as a striker saw Van Gaal face heavy criticism, however the Dutchman defended his actions by explaining he "wanted more running in behind.

"[50][51] Young scored his only goal of the season on 17 May, the last day of the Premier League, in a 3–1 win against AFC Bournemouth after coming on as a substitute for Anthony Martial.

[52] On 21 May, he won the FA Cup after defeating Crystal Palace 2–1 in the final after extra time, playing at both striker and left-back after replacing Marcus Rashford in the 72nd minute – marking his third domestic trophy with the club.

[60] Young made his first assist of the season on 19 March against Middlesbrough, crossing the ball to Marouane Fellaini, who headed in the opening goal of a 3–1 victory.

[62] His season ended after suffering an injury against Celta Vigo in the Europa League semi-final first leg on 4 May, after coming on for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 78th minute.

[63] Young's first start of the campaign came at right-back on 12 September 2017 in a 3–0 win against Basel in the Champions League, assisting with the opening goal with a cross to Marouane Fellaini in the 35th minute, he was also captain for the match.

[65] On 28 November, Young scored a brace for the first time since March 2012 against his former club Watford, the opening two goals, one of them being a 30-yard freekick into the top left corner, in a 4–2 win at Vicarage Road.

[71] He became one of three former Premier League players to have signed for Inter Milan in the same window, with Victor Moses and Christian Eriksen joining the club soon after.

[75] On 17 June 2021, Young signed a one-year contract with Aston Villa to return to the club on a free transfer for a second spell.

[83] On 13 July 2023, Everton announced the signing of Young as a free agent on a one-year contract with an option for a further 12 months, in which he continued to wear his number 18.

Young played the last 15 minutes of the match as England scored a late goal to win 3–2, topping their group, and reaching a play-off for a place in the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

[87] On 31 August 2007, Steve McClaren called Young up to the full England squad for the first time, to face Russia and Israel in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers.

[97] After not being called up to the national team for almost four years, Young was recalled by Gareth Southgate for the upcoming friendly matches against Germany and Brazil on 2 November 2017.

[101][102] With qualification for the knockout stage secure after winning both matches, Young was rested for the final game against Belgium,[103] before returning for the round of 16 tie against Group H winners Colombia.

[107] Young has played in a variety of positions: though for most of his career chiefly a winger,[10] he has also experienced game-time as a forward – under Aidy Boothroyd at Watford and once under Louis Van Gaal at Manchester United[50][51] – as well as in a free role behind the striker for Aston Villa.

WhoScored's Martin Laurence stated in 2018 that "Luke Shaw can't get a kick at Manchester United and that is down to the form of Ashley Young, who has adapted to another new role superbly.