Martin O'Neill last night moved to end the speculation surrounding Ashley Young's future by insisting that not even a £50m bid would prise the England international from Aston Villa this summer. Young has been linked with moves to Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Liverpool and Barcelona but O'Neill believes that the 24-year-old could not be at a better club for his development and claimed that Randy Lerner, the Villa chairman, would not countenance selling the winger.
"There are loads of teams that would want Ashley Young, top continental sides that would want him," said O'Neill, whose side take on Malaga in the Peace Cup tonight. "And Ashley Young, with a bit of luck, has a fantastic future ahead of him. But he's absolutely at the right club at this moment. Since he's joined us he's been one of the major reasons we've finished in the position we have done the last couple of seasons. But I couldn't be more strong on this. He's not going anywhere. And the teams that I've noticed that have been linked with him couldn't buy him.
"If somebody came in with £30m, £40m or £50m? I wouldn't do it. I'm not in overall charge obviously and it would be up to Randy but the last time I spoke to Randy he wasn't entertaining anything at any price."
O'Neill accepts that he cannot guarantee Young will be at Villa for the remainder of his career but, with the World Cup taking place next summer, he claims that the former Watford player's chance of being in the England squad would be enhanced through playing week-in, week-out at the club where he has performed so impressively since arriving from Vicarage Road for £9.65m in January 2007.
"Sometimes you leave a little caveat in somewhere along the way, where you feel that there is no chance unless someone makes a silly offer – that suggests there is a possibility," says O'Neill. "But there is not. He won't be going. We're really happy with him. He may not stay here at Aston Villa for the rest of his life; we're going to have to try and make progress. But my own view is that for him to go anywhere at this minute, even if it came to it, wouldn't be the right thing for him."