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| Young completes £9.65m Villa move | |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Aston Villa have completed the signing of Watford forward Ashley Young for an initial fee of £8m. | |
| The 21-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal at Villa Park, with clauses meaning his price tag could end up reaching £9.65m. | |
| "He has got enormous potential and I think he will fulfil that," said Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill. | |
| "Ashley is a really talented player. I have seen a lot of him and I am going to back my judgement." | |
| News conference: Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill | News conference: Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill |
| The England Under-21 international turned down a move to West Ham earlier this month. | |
| Young's basic deal is believed to be worth about £30,000 a weeks, and he is expected to make his Villa debut against Newcastle on 31 January. | |
| "I had been hopeful Ashley would come to Aston Villa after he verbally agreed to join us over the weekend but you never take anything for granted until they sign on the dotted line," added O'Neill. | |
| "You think along the lines of `Will he be of value over the next four or five years' and you base your decision on that. | |
| "He can play on both flanks and he can play alongside the centre-forward. | |
| "I think he is an exciting player and has got a great touch, great control, plus a wee bit of pace. I am excited with his signing for us. | |
| "He is only a young fellow and it will be hard to put him under the sort of pressure where he is having to justifying himself from minute one, but overall Ihave no doubt at all he is good enough. | |
| "I know his potential but it is different knowing the potential of a player and what they eventually go on to achieve. I believe he has the ability to go on and achieve things." | |
| Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd said as many as seven Premiership clubs had expressed an interest in signing Young. | |
| Young broke into Watford's first team in 2003 and established himself as a talent to watch last season, with 15 goals in the Hornets' successful push for promotion. | |
| More to follow. | |