Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given reasons why Ashley Young is joining Serie A giants Inter Milan.
Young has been granted permission to conclude a move to title-chasing Inter Milan coached by former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.
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If the deal is finalised, Young will up with former United teammates Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez.
“Well, to be fair, I think it was for Ashley, you know,” Solskjaer told United TV on Friday.
“He is 35 in the summer and, if he gets a two-year contract somewhere, I think it’s up to him to take that. We weren’t ready to offer that.
“He’s been a good servant for the club. He’s been captain and he’s won trophies, leagues, cups, but we’ve got players coming through.
“So it was time now, then. When Ashley’s head and mindset was on ‘yeah, I want to try this’, why not do it now?“
Elaborating on the deal, Solskjaer added: “When this situation came up, and we’ve the options we’ve got at full-back. You’ve got Brandon [Williams], who has really come through and developed. Aaron [Wan-Bissaka] has been fantastic.
“Luke [Shaw] is potentially one of the best left-backs in England, for me. Then we’ve got Diogo [Dalot] and Tim [Fosu-Mensah] – they’re both fit. You’ve got loads of full-backs.
“Ashley’s mindset was that he wanted to try a new adventure and he’s approaching 35 now. He’s done a fantastic job and he’s served this club fantastically. I think it was an opportunity for him that we had to say yes to. We got a transfer fee for someone who’s been so loyal to the club.
“Good luck. That’s what Manchester United do, you have players for a long time and then they move on and someone else steps in.”
Young has made 202 starts for United, amassing a further 59 appearances as a substitute, and has scored 19 goals.
He won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, FA Community Shield and UEFA Europa League with United.
