Inter have confirmed the signing of Ashley Young from Manchester United on a six-month contract.
The 34-year-old had entered the last six months of his deal at Old Trafford and had already snubbed the offer of a new contract to try and force through an immediate exit to the Serie A side.
Inter took to their official website to announce that the deal is done, with Young penning a deal which also includes the option to extend by a further year at the end of the current campaign.
Manager Antonio Conte was eager to add some more depth to his wing-back positions, with Young emerging as a viable option for I Nerazzurri, despite the initial belief that a move would occur at the end of the season.
Young agreed terms with the Italian side, which prompted United to submit their own contract proposal to the 34-year-old, but he quickly rejected the offer in the hope of making an immediate move to Inter.
He has now been given his wish, with Young bringing an end to his nine-year association with the Red Devils in order to join Conte.
In total, Young managed 261 appearances for United following his switch from Aston Villa back in 2011, racking up 19 goals and 43 assists in all competitions. He enjoyed plenty of success with the club, lifting the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League once each.
Earlier in the day, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that the club were unable to meet Young’s demands, and they accepted that they had the squad depth to cope without him for the remainder of the campaign.
“He is 35 in the summer and, if he gets a two-year contract somewhere, I think it’s up to him to take that. We weren’t ready to offer that,” he confirmed (via the club’s official website).
“He’s been a good servant for the club. He’s been captain and he’s won trophies, leagues, cups, but we’ve got players coming through. So it was time now, then. When Ashley’s head and mindset was on ‘yeah, I want to try this’, why not do it now?
“Ashley’s mindset was that he wanted to try a new adventure and he he’s approaching 35 now. He’s done a fantastic job and he’s served this club fantastically. I think it was an opportunity for him that we had to say yes to. We got a transfer fee for someone who’s been so loyal to the club.
“Good luck. That’s what Manchester United do, you have players for a long time and then they move on and someone else steps in.”