Are Villa’s youngsters the future of England?

December 12, 2008

Aston Villa have built a fantastic young team over the last couple of years and one which has provided the biggest threat to the ‘big four’ in the Premier League. Now though, it is being considered that the same young stars could help shape England’s future ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ashley Young – who has made four international appearances after impressing for Villa – was joined in the England squad that faced Germany last month by team-mates Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gareth Barry and Curtis Davis.

The 23-year-old now believes that Martin O’Neill’s young players will form the core of Fabio Capello’s plans over the next few years. He says that there is a lot of ‘young talent’ at Villa Park and this may well result in the Villans become ‘a feeder to England’.

Something Young was keen to emphasise though was that it isn’t just the current crop of Villa stars that should be excited about having a future in the England team. The youngsters that haven’t quite made it into the first team yet – such as Nathan Delfouneso – should see that the players who emerge from the Villa youth team can start to knock on the international door.

There is no doubt that Young is speaking sense here and he seems like a very level headed young man. To have so many English players coming through from the same club can only be a good thing as well. Like when David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers emerged from Manchester United – they are all likely to know each others games going into international games.

As for Young himself, he is all set to have a long and successful career with England. The football odds may even back him to be the first choice for Capello come the 2010 World Cup.

Fellow Aston Villa and England man Gareth Barry certainly believes that the former Watford man deserves a prolonged run in Capello’s starting line-up. The Villa captain says that Young is ‘creating and scoring goals’ on a consistent basis and that he is ‘ready to perform at a very high level’.

Barry, of course, is already a regular member of England’s midfield, but if the likes of Young, Agbonlahor, Davies and Delfouneso continue to impress at club level – he could be joined by a number of familiar faces as England continue their quest to qualify for South Africa and beyond.

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about football betting

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