Ole says Young will be new club captain
Ashley Young will be Manchester United's new club captain for the 2019/20 season, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed.
Speaking after the Reds' 5-4 penalty shoot-out win against AC Milan in Cardiff, the boss said that the 34-year-old, who often filled in as skipper in Antonio Valencia's absence last season, will take the captaincy when he is named in the team.
Goalkeeper David De Gea wore the armband at the Principality Stadium, despite Young's introduction as a second-half substitute.
“David’s obviously in contention, [but] Ash, when he's on the pitch, will carry the armband. When Ash starts, he'll be carrying the armband,” said Ole in his post-match press conference.
When asked if this meant that the right-back had replaced Valencia - who moved to L.D.U. Quito in the summer - as club captain, Ole's reply was short and to the point.
"You can probably call it that," he said.
Ole had suggested that there would be news on the captaincy after the win over Kristiansund in Oslo.
De Gea led the team out from the start on Tuesday, as he did in Cardiff tonight, but Young, who slammed in a spot-kick during the shoot-out, took the armband for the closing half an hour at the Ullevaal Stadium.
Young is one of the longest-serving members of United's current squad, having moved to Old Trafford from Aston Villa in the summer of 2011.
De Gea also joined the club in the same transfer window, as did centre-back Phil Jones, who didn't feature in Cardiff.
Chris Smalling has been a Red the longest: Jones' fellow defender signed for United from Fulham back in January 2010, although the transfer didn't go through until July of the same year.
Reading this in our app? If not, you might miss some exclusive features not found on ManUtd.com. Download the Official App here.