Stoke approach Manchester United for winger Ashley Young to replace West Ham-bound Marko Arnautovic
Mark Hughes makes first move for United ace as he looks to fill void left by Arnautovic exit
STOKE CITY have approached Manchester United to see if they can sign Ashley Young.
The Potters are set to lose Marko Arnautovic to West Ham and have checked the United winger’s availability this summer.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes made contact in the belief former England star Young would be the ideal man to bring in at the Bet365 Stadium to fill the void left by Arnautovic’s departure.
Young, 32, was offered the chance to leave Old Trafford in January with a lucrative move to Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng.
However United boss Jose Mourinho blocked the move as the winger was needed for United’s push for the Champions League and Europa League campaign.
SunSport has been told the offers are coming back in for the experienced winger who captained United in the absence of Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick last term.
Young is yet to feature on United’s pre-season tour of the US, though could be in line to face Manchester City in Maryland early on Friday morning.
The former Aston Villa man is one the longest serving players at Old Trafford after leaving the Midlands in 2011 for £17million.
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However he has been used mainly at full-back in the last 18 months.
But with Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata already ahead of him, it could get worse with the arrival of Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan.
Mourinho still values Young’s experience in the squad as he looks to mount a serious title challenge and progress in the Champions League.
Young signed a new deal in 2015 under former boss Louis Van Gaal and has another year left with an option for a further 12 months.
