A Man Reborn: The Rejuvenation of Ashley Young Under Jose Mourinho

Formerly on the fringes of the Manchester United squad and seemingly destined for a move away from Old Trafford, Ashley Young has - surprisingly - become one of Jose Mourinho's key men this season. Utilised predominantly as a left-back by the Portuguese manager, the 31-year-old has enjoyed an impressive start to the 2017/18 Premier League season.

Last season, Young did not feature as much as he would have liked, being used mainly as a utility player due to his positional versatility. However, this season due to United's injury crisis, and the issue surrounding Luke Shaw, Young has made the left-back position his own, already making more Premier League appearances this season (14) than he made all of last season.

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Young, due to his past as a wide player, has been an extremely potent offensive outlet for Manchester United from the left-back position. The former Aston Villa man has already contributed with two goals and two assists in the Premier League this season; with both goals coming in his Man of the Match performance away to Watford at the end of November. 

Coupled with this offensive prowess, the 31-year-old has been hugely effective defensively. Young is only second to Nemanja Matic for United in regards to interceptions this season with 26 already, which is a stark contrast to last season, when the Englishman only made 16 interceptions.

Statistics regarding recoveries for Young are quite similar when compared to last season. The ex-Watford man has 78 recoveries so far this season, and registered 73 in the previous campaign.

Young has been in top form at left-back in recent weeks, however the Englishman is likely to move to right-back in the coming weeks, after Antonio Valencia picked up a hamstring injury in the win against West Brom. Manchester United fans will be hoping that Young can continue to impress on the opposite flank in the coming weeks.