New Blues signing Ashley Young says manager Kieran McKenna played a big part in his decision to join Town having left Everton at the end of last season.

Young, 40, who signed for the Blues earlier today on a one-year deal, previously worked with McKenna during the Northern Irishman’s time on the backroom staff at Manchester United.

Asked what persuaded him that Town was the right club for him at this point in his career, Young told TownTV: “I think the manager played a big part in that. I worked with him at United, I know his beliefs, I know what he wants to do for this club, I’ve seen what he’s done with this club as well.

“Obviously it was disappointing last season, but speaking to him before joining, I knew that I wanted to come and play under him. I know how passionate he is about football and what he wants to achieve and that’s to get back to the Premier League.

“He’s a winner. You see that on the training pitch, you see that on the sidelines of the games.

“I’ve seen that day in, day out when I’ve worked with him previously. He was a massive pull, but the club as a whole as well, the fanbase, the players.

“Coming up against Ipswich sides, it’s never easy to play against an Ipswich side. [After] the excitement of last season, there’s definitely something to build on this season to get the club back into the Premier League.”

The former England international, whose son Tyler is currently on trial with the U21s, says McKenna, who has been at Town for three and a half years, hasn’t changed since he left Old Trafford for Portman Road.

“He’s the same,” Young, who was reportedly close to rejoining his first club Watford prior to his move to Town, continued. “You do get managers who come out of the Championship and go to the Premier League who change, but he hasn’t, he’s stayed the same way.

“He’s just the same, he’s still got that hunger, that desire for football, he lives and breathes football. The passion that he shows, it reflects on the players.”

Reflecting on Town, he added: “You can see that the club as a whole is a family club. You can see the players, the passion that they play with on the pitch. They emulate what the fans want to see and the manager is exactly that way as well.

“You see his passion, it runs down, it filters all the way through the club and just being here today, you get that feeling from everyone that’s around the club.

“The project is to get back to the Premier League, it’s that simple. We know it’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be tough, especially coming back down from the Premier League.

“But I think everyone has bought into the manager’s ideas, his thought processes of wanting to get the club back.

“When you have a taste of the Premier League, you want more and more of that, so I think everyone’s going to be champing at the bit to get back out there and get back in the Premier League.”

Young has achieved a promotion from the Championship previously, he was in the Hornets side which beat Leeds 3-0 at Wembley in the 2005/06 play-off final, in addition to a Premier League title with United in 2012/13 and winning Serie A with Inter Milan in 2020/21. He also won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup while at Old Trafford.

“When I did it, it was quite a long time ago,” he reflected on the success with Watford, his boyhood club. “The Championship has changed a lot. It takes everything the manager will talk about - togetherness out on the pitch, away from the pitch, being strong together. Everything that you do, it’s all about working hard.

“When you’re in day in, day out, it’s about working hard and you get the success from there.

“The club will know how tough the Championship is. It’s not easy to get out of, but when you’re in the right frame of mind and you’ve got the right focus, then I’m sure it will happen again this season.”

Outlining his role during the season to come, Town’s oldest ever signing added: “To bring my experience, my leadership, not just that but my footballing ability, that’s what I’m here for. I’ve come here to play football.

“A lot will be talked about my age but a lot of football talk is about stats these days and I played 32 Premier League games last season. I couldn’t tell you the stats about how many games I’ll play, but what my focus is on is getting this club back into the Premier League, that’s all I’ve got to focus on now.”

Photo: ITFC

thorpie added 08:51 - Jul 24 32 games for everton last season with the majority of their fans saying he was one of their better performers when he played. yet people on here seem to think turning a year older instantly makes him useless. Looking forward to him proving the doubters wrong :)
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PackwoodBlue added 09:03 - Jul 24 I'm happy to give this deal the benefit of the doubt. Decent and consistent performer for Everton last year in a team that comfortably stayed up. He brings a wealth of experience to the club. Perhaps he may even have a word in Omari's ear and tell him this is the place to be, rather than Brentford ;-)
4

Karlosfandangal added 09:24 - Jul 24 Tunzebe Burgess and Morsy replacements in now need a striker to replace Delap. Then players to improve the squad
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BobbyBell added 09:29 - Jul 24 Some very ageist comments on here. Age is just a number and if a player is good enough at 17 or 40 then he's worth having. Experience is a bonus not a handicap.
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Carberry added 09:34 - Jul 24 ....and the money was better than Watford were offering.
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Linkboy13 added 09:47 - Jul 24 Age is irrelevant he's obviously very fit playing 32 games in the Premier league so dropping down to the championship should be easy for him . If it had been more than a one year deal i would have been a bit sceptical. There will be games in the championship where we will be under a lot of pressure so his experience will be vital. He may be 40 but as he proved last season he's still better than what we have got in our squad. We spent millions last season on so called players for the future and that didn't work out to good just very good championship players.

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delias_cheesy_flaps added 09:59 - Jul 24 We really have some Melts on TWTD nowadays... Young at 40 is fitter than all of you plebs criticising his age, I'd like to see you moaners play 1 EPL game! I thought he was one of Everton's most consistent performers last year and the step down in class will be a benefit to ITFC.
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oldelsworthyfan added 10:18 - Jul 24 Time will tell how good this signing is. There were several 'not so good' last year. I think this is one of the better ones. Our defence badly needs Young's experience.
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Gazelle added 11:10 - Jul 24 If It’s ok with KM it’s ok with me.
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BeattiesBackPocket added 11:17 - Jul 24 1. Played more prem games (32) than Tuanzebe did last year yet people were gutted he left. 2. With morsy leaving we need an experienced with prem, international and championship winning head in the team this guy gives us that and also something some people moaned we needed last season. 3. Clearly still has the heart and desire to want to achieve considering everything he’s already achieved. Don’t really know why ANYONE would see this as a negative unless you know absolutely nothing about football or a Norwich fan which I’m pretty sure we have on here with the constant moans and groans.

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Marinersnose added 11:19 - Jul 24 Linkboy that phrase better than what we have is so true. I thought he looked excellent for Everton and we actually commented on his cameo at PR last season. He’s got quality and he’s still quick and strong. A fantastic presence in the dressing room and on the training ground. What’s not to like
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EuanTown added 15:15 - Jul 24 So the song is young ones by cliff richard
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bluesince76 added 16:58 - Jul 24 To old in my book a very unimpressive transfer window so far hope there's some quality signings in the pipeline.
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blueboy1981 added 19:29 - Jul 24 What he really means is he needed a Friend - cannot imagine too much of a queue for his signature at 40 years old. Don’t forget offloaded players nearly a decade younger …. makes you wonder what this is all about ? Can imagine it quite shocked the Owners too - that’s if they are still interested in progressing the Club - or just offloading it themselves as soon as / if possible ? Time will soon tell - with all !!

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blueboy1981 added 19:31 - Jul 24 Rimsy ……. but at a totally different level - it’s a Championship Grind ahead …. !!
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Linkboy13 added 09:13 - Jul 25 Can't wait for the championship grind again exciting end to end football on a level playing field no VAR constant stoppages even if we don't go up i want to be entertained we might even win a few games. You can stuff the Sky circus and the corrupt officials.
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