‘He’s a really good player’: Antonio Conte wowed by ‘fantastic’ £88k-a-week Aston Villa man

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has praised Aston Villa ace Ashley Young ahead of Spurs taking on the Villans today.

The North Londoners head to Villa Park for a 5:30pm Saturday kickoff having won their last three Premier League games.

Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard’s charges have lost their last three league games.

However, they won three in a row before then and have dangerous players that Spurs will need to watch out for.

Conte, speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, said he’s looking forward to catching up with Young again.

The 36-year-old played for the Italian at Inter Milan in 2019-20 and 2020-21, winning the Serie A title last season.

Young made 59 appearances for the Nerazzurri, registering five goals and nine assists.

He then upped sticks and rejoined Villa on a free transfer last summer.

The £88,000-a-week ace has clocked up 21 appearances in his second claret-and-blue spell so far.

“Yes, Ashley Young… we spent two seasons in Inter Milan, he’s a really good player and a good man,” Conte told the Spurs website.

“We spent two fantastic seasons (together), he played with me good games, we won the title, we played the final in the Europa League – it will be a pleasure for me to see him again.”

Young on Conte: “You can tell he’s a winner”

Young has often sung Conte’s praises in the past.

In 2020, he spoke to the UEFA media team about what it’s like playing under the current Tottenham boss.

“He demands everything, not just in matches, in training as well,” said Young.

“You can tell he’s a winner. He wants to win, and he demands that from all the players, a winning mentality. Everyone’s got that.

“Obviously, it’s more of a tactical league than I’ve been used to, but it’s one of those things you have to adapt to pretty quickly and I felt I have adapted to that.

“Playing the wing-back position, there’s a lot of running to do, getting forward, defending.

“But as the way that we play, you’re more on the front foot and playing as an attacker, and it’s felt like a new lease of life being able to get on the scoresheet and get assists.

“I’m used to that, but when I was back at (Manchester) United, I was more of an out-and-out defender, having to defend more.

“When you’re here, you’ve got a licence to get forward more than staying back.”