Aston Villa academy product Brad Young, who left Villa last summer, could be about to move to the Saudi Pro League
Aston Villa academy product Brad Young could be set for a surprise move to Saudi Arabia after a stunning season in Wales’ top tier, it has been claimed. Striker Young joined Villa as a boy having been released by West Bromwich Albion at the age of 12 and he progressed through the age categories of the club to become a regular in the U18 and U23 sides.
Young, who is still only 21 now, made up a part of the Villa side with Louie Barry and Carney Chukwuemeka which won the FA Youth Cup in 2021. Prior to beating Liverpool in the final at Villa Park, he and many of the other under 18s had played – and in doing so made their senior debuts – against the Reds’ first team in the FA Cup after a Coronavirus outbreak in the Villa first-team ruled them out of playing.
A loan move to Carlisle United followed, where he scored a couple of goals in the EFL Trophy and against non-league Horsham in the FA Cup. Young, a year later, joined Ayr United north of the border and he scored a couple of goals in the Scottish Championship in 11 league appearances.
The forward was released by Villa last year and, after being on trial at Exeter City, he joined The New Saints in the Welsh Premier. Last season Young scored 29 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions to help TNS win the Cymru Premier and the League Cup, as well as securing the Golden Boot and the division’s young player of the season awards in the process.
That form, which has helped TNS earn Conference League football this season – they’ll play the likes of Fiorentina and Panathanaikos in the group stages of the competition which Villa partook in last year – has attracted interest from the Saudi Pro League, made up of clubs who can still complete transfer business until tonight.
Al-Orobah are one such club. They’ve acquired Kurt Zouma from West Ham this summer and also have signed Johan Berg Gudmundsson from Burnley, Jean Michel Seri from Hull City and former Newcastle United midfielder Vurnon Anita. Reports in Saudi say that they are about to sign Young from TNS and will pay the highest fee a Welsh club have ever received.
