Young heart runs free

MARTIN O’NEILL raised more than a few eyebrows when he purchased Ashley Young for £9 million (€11.4m) just over a year ago, but the doubters have suddenly fallen silent.

The Aston Villa manager could probably raise more than double that by cashing in on his talented tyro this summer, although the Ulsterman will not entertain selling his prize asset on the evidence of the havoc he wreaked to sentence Birmingham City to their heaviest league derby defeat in 48 years.

Young must now be a shoe-in for Fabio Cappello’s squad for the summer games against America and Trinidad after the latest audition he gave for the watching England manager at Villa Park. He dismantled Alex McLeish’s side to shove them closer to relegation from the Premier League, as Birmingham suffered their fourth successive reversal and most embarrassing derby loss.