Nationality: English
Date of Birth: 19 July 1979 (Harlow, Essex)
Previous Clubs: Tottenham Hotspur, Charlton Athletic, Middlesbrough
Position: Defender

Luke Young joined Villa from Middlesbrough on 7 August 2008 for an undisclosed fee, reported to be between £4 million and £6 million. The higher fee is the sum that Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson claimed the club had received, saying it was an offer too good to turn down. If true, the deal certainly represents good business for Middlesbrough – they only signed Luke from Charlton Athletic in July 2007 for £2.5 million. Villa were also linked with Luke at that time but, for one reason or another, did not make a move for him then.

Martin O’Neill had been searching for a right back since June 2007 when Aaron Hughes was transferred to Fulham. Villa spent the whole of the 2007/08 season without a natural right back at the club, although Olof Mellberg and Craig Gardner filled in ably enough. The signing of a quality right back was a priority for over a year, and became even more critical when Olof Mellberg moved to Juventus at the end of the 2007/08 season.

Luke Young had a solid season at Middlesbrough, playing almost every game, and earned himself the (rather uninspiring) nickname “Mr Consistent” from the Middlesbrough fans. Luke has been capped for England seven times (as of July 2008) and previously was an England Under 21 international.

Luke told www.avfc.co.uk: "I'm really pleased to be here at Villa. It's happened quite quickly. One minute I was training up at Boro and the next I'm down here for a medical. Obviously I'm glad to be here now but it could have been a year earlier. There was interest last summer but it didn't quite happen for whatever reason. I'm just glad to find myself here now. I think this is a great opportunity for me to try and win something. I think at the minute Villa are a notch above Boro and there's a great opportunity for me to play European football as well."

[Frank Antram, 10 August 2008]

Photo: www.avfc.co.uk