How could you turn this down?
It’s no wonder Premier League clubs, Proper Football Men and fans are worried about the best players in the division leaving for China.
The money on offer in the Chinese Super League is incredible. So much so, it even has a world class player like Diego Costa tempted.
However, English clubs can also use the situation to their advantage by offloading fringe players.
Chelsea earned £60m from the sale of squad player Oscar earlier this month, and Manchester United could pocket a tidy sum if this sale goes through.
According to The Sun, Shandong Luneng want to sign Ashley Young, and will offer the utility player a contract worth £10m a year.
The 31-year-old has only made 10-appearances this season, and appears surplus to requirements at Old Trafford. His contract expires this summer, but United have the option to extend it for a further year.
Young joined the club from Aston Villa for £15m in 2011. He’s played 150-times for United and has won the Premier League and the FA Cup during his time in Manchester.
West Brom, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Watford, the club where he began his career, are also said to be interested in him.
However, we doubt they’ll be offering him £10m a season.
Shandong Luneng are coached by former Bayern Munich and Fulham manager Felix Magath. Their squad includes Graziano Pelle, the former Southampton striker, and former Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse.
They clearly want Young to play out-wide and land some crosses on the heads of the former Premier League strikers. We doubt they’ll take a leaf out of Louis van Gaal’s book and play Young as a centre forward.
