Ashley Young racked up more than 250 appearances for Manchester United but it could have been all so different if Steven Gerrard had called him a little earlier.
Cast your minds back to 2011; United had just regained the Premier League title, losing just four games to reclaim the crown from Chelsea.
United were also beaten in the Champions League final, falling at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s incredible Barcelona side.
Sir Alex Ferguson had to try and find a way to take United forward and decided to bring in a couple of talents for the future.
Phil Jones and David De Gea came in but their fortunes at United were rather different; De Gea became a top goalkeeper but Jones was plagued by injuries.
United struck one other incoming deal in the summer of 2011, bringing in winger Ashley Young from Aston Villa in a £17million deal.
From flying winger to dependable full back, Young was the kind of character United desperately need right now.
Young spent nine years at United and proved to be exceptional value for money – but he could have ended up at Liverpool instead.
Ashley Young on Steven Gerrard call
Young was a wanted man after impressing for Villa.
Nine-goal campaigns four seasons in a row displayed Young’s attacking qualities, whilst also chipping in with 60 assists in his 247 Villa appearances.
United weren’t alone in the race for Young and the current Everton ace has now opened up on his 2011 transfer situation.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Young admitted that he had other offers on the table before signing for United.
Young admitted that Steven Gerrard attempted to bring him to Liverpool, calling him up and urging him to make the move to Anfield.
Young had already given his word to United by that time though and whilst he told Gerrard that he would think about joining Liverpool, he was all set on joining United instead.
Manchester City also tried to sign Young but it was all pointless as the England international wanted to play for Ferguson instead.
“There was interest from others as well… I’ll tell you who did try and tap me up, Stevie [Gerrard] tried to tap me up,” said Young. “He was like ‘are you leaving?’, I was like ‘yeah I’m leaving Aston Villa’, it was ‘yeah, yeah, I think you should come to Liverpool!’, and I was like ‘yeah, I’ll come back to you’ – I’d already spoke to United by that time and I was already going, so sorry Stevie!”
“I’d spoke to Man City as well at the time, but for me, the factor of going to Manchester United was the size of the club, it was – as I call ‘the boss’ now – Sir Alex, it was the pull and just being able to go and sit and speak to him, he was the one that got me to the club. It was everything I wanted to hear,” he added.
Young’s Manchester United career in numbers
Young was a consistent performer in a United shirt and managed more than 20 appearances across all competitions in each of his full seasons at Old Trafford.
15 goals in 192 Premier League outings for United is perhaps a little underwhelming, especially after six goals in his debut campaign.
It’s important to remember that Young’s role began to change under Louis van Gaal, moving from winger to wing back and then full back.
Young won a Premier League title in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season at the club, as well as an FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League later in his time at United.
Young’s time at United was certainly a success and he is clearly still glad to have picked a move to Old Trafford over joining Gerrard at Liverpool – even if they did eventually join forces at Aston Villa.