Manchester United midfielder Ashley Young. (Photo : Getty Images)
Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng Taishan FC is targeting Manchester United's veteran winger Ashley Young in the ongoing winter transfer window, according to latest football rumors.
The Sun reported that Taishan Dui has offered Young a £10 million ($12.3 million) annual salary to move to China but the 31-year-old midfielder has yet to respond to the proposal.
There are still no official reports yet on how much would Shandong bid to United for the services of Young.
Young only has five appearances, two of them as a starter, and zero goals in 21 games in the English Premier League so far this season. He is said to be low in the midfield pecking order of Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho behind stars Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera, and Marouane Fellaini.
Rumors abound that Mourinho was given the go-signal to sell some of his fringe players before he can acquire new ones and Young is said to be one of those who is at risk of being sold.
With his lack of playing time, there are speculations that the Englishman could choose to explore his options outside of England and the China offer is the latest rumor to have recently emerged, as per the Mirror.
Shandong is joining other English top flight clubs, namely Crystal Palace, Watford, Burnley, and West Bromwich Albion, in the race to acquire the signature of the Stevenage, England native. At the moment, United has reportedly turned down all the offers from their fellow Premier League sides.
Last season, Shandong finished 14th in the CSL and is aiming to improve their status in the 2017 season beginning this March. Should the deal push through, Young will be joining Graziano Pellè and Papiss Cissé as the club's other foreign players with Fulham boss Felix Magath as manager.
Young was acquired by the Red Devils from Aston Villa in the summer of 2011 for an undisclosed fee believed to be in between $18 million to $25 million. He has been with United ever since and has appeared in a total of 150 games in all competitions, scoring 14 times mainly as a defensive midfielder.
