McLeish looking to young stars

Last updated : 23 June 2011 By Team Talk

Villa are set to lose Ashley Young to Manchester United in the coming days and will also allow Stewart Downing to leave if a club meets their asking price, reported to be ?18million.

It is also understood that McLeish is willing to let Carlos Cuellar return to Rangers for a fee of around ?3million - double the Gers' opening offer.

Villa are also unlikely to sign midfielder Michael Bradley on a permanent basis from Borussia Monchengladbach, leaving McLeish with plenty of work to do ahead of kick-off.

He said: "I've been in touch with the IT guy who is going to give me some DVDs of the young players so I can assess how far they've developed.

"The question is are they ready to go into the melting pot of the Premier League next season?"

McLeish is already excited at working with some of the young prospects at Villa.

He said: "Looking through the squad, it's a great mixture of experience and some tremendous young players.

"We definitely have players coming through. I know young Marc Albrighton has burst on to the scene. He looks a fantastic prospect.

"He was the one who made the big breakthrough last season.

"Nathan Delfouneso is another I know. Then there are the likes of Nathan Baker and Gary Gardner as well.

"I'd love to think the likes of Fabian Delph can make the breakthrough next season.

"It would be great to have a good mix of youth and experience going forward next season."

Source: Team Talk

Source: Team Talk