Watford Young joined the
Watford academy system at 10 years of age. He developed there until the summer of 2001, when he was informed by the club that he wouldn't receive a full scholarship and could look for another football team. Despite being turned away, Young stayed on at the club on a part-time basis and endeavoured to improve himself as a player and prove he could make it to the first team. He started to train with the Under-18s, despite being 16, and was starting games by the end of the season. He progressed on to the Under-21s and was eventually offered a professional deal by the club. The 18-year-old was handed his first-team debut under
Ray Lewington in September 2003, scoring as a
substitute against
Millwall. He achieved five substitute appearances that season, scoring three goals, and made his first start for the club in the
League Cup. Young came to prominence in the 2004–05 season, playing a part in 34 of Watford's league matches as they struggled to survive in the
Championship. Although he failed to find the net, his performance during this season earned him the club's Young Player of the Season award. Under
Aidy Boothroyd in the 2005–06 season, Young was given a new lease of life as a striker and right winger. Young started 41 League matches, finding the net 15 times, including a playoff semi-final goal against
Crystal Palace, as Watford qualified for the
play-offs and eventually beat
Leeds United 3–0 to gain promotion to the
Premier League. During that season, Young scored a number of spectacular goals, including free-kicks against
Plymouth Argyle and Leeds, a shot into the top corner from 30 yards out against
Coventry City, and a curling shot against
Queens Park Rangers. It was during this season, though, that Young was sent off for the first time in his career, in the local derby away at
Luton Town. Young began Watford's
2006–07 Premier League season well, scoring three times in the league, including a last minute strike in a 3–3 draw with
Fulham (he had also scored Watford's second goal in the match), and a goal against
Middlesbrough, in Watford's first win of the season in October. He also scored a free-kick in a 2–1 home win over
Hull City in the League Cup. In the January 2007 transfer window, three unnamed clubs made £5 million offers for the under-21 international. Watford rejected these approaches, as well as an offer of £7 million, again from an unnamed club. An improved offer of nearly £10 million from
West Ham United was accepted. However, Young rejected the move, opting to wait for offers from clubs for whom relegation was not an issue.
Aston Villa 2007–2009 in 2008 On 23 January 2007, Aston Villa completed the signing of Young for a fee of £8 million (rising to £9.65 million with add-ons). At the time, this was the highest fee Aston Villa had ever paid for a player. On 31 January 2007, he scored on his debut for Villa at
St James' Park against
Newcastle United, but Villa went on to lose 3–1. Young started the
2007–08 season well, receiving several Man of the Match awards, culminating in a call-up to the England squad. Young was included in the Premier League Team of the Year, and apart from
Portsmouth's
David James, was the only other player who did not come from any of the 'Big Four' (
Chelsea,
Arsenal,
Liverpool and
Manchester United) to make it into the best XI of the season. On 20 April 2008, Young scored two goals and assisted two goals for Aston Villa against
Birmingham City at
Villa Park and Villa went on to win the match 5–1. He also scored the winner against Danish club
Odense Boldklub in Villa's home leg of the
UEFA Intertoto Cup third round. On 10 October 2008, Young won the
Premier League Player of the Month award. This was due to his performances in the
2008–09 Premier League season. Having also won the award in April 2008, Young joined the list of players who have won the award more than once including
Cristiano Ronaldo,
Wayne Rooney and
Steven Gerrard. On 7 December 2008, in the 3–2 win over
Everton, Young scored two goals, one being an injury time winner after Everton's
Joleon Lescott had equalised seconds earlier. Young signed a new four-year contract until 2012 on 4 November 2008. On 10 January 2009, Young was again awarded the Premier League Player of the Month award for December, along with O'Neill, who won the Manager of the Month award. He became the first ever player to win three Premier League Player of the Month awards in the same year. During a match against Sunderland on 18 January 2009, Young was sent off for a two-footed foul on Sunderland's
Dean Whitehead. On 26 April 2009, he won the
PFA Young Player of the Year award.
2009–2011 On 24 August 2009, Young scored a
penalty as Aston Villa won 3–1 against Liverpool at
Anfield. He did, however, miss a penalty three days later in a home tie in the
UEFA Europa League against
Rapid Wien. Young won two penalties in the first half of the match (one that he missed, the other that was converted by
James Milner) as Aston Villa were eliminated from the tournament on the away goals rule. During the
2010–11 season, Young became
vice-captain of the club and played in a new free role behind the striker, allowing him to move from wing to wing and through the centre. Young scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season with a direct free-kick in the Premier League match at home to
Bolton Wanderers on 18 September 2010. He ended the season with nine goals and fourteen assists in 39 appearances for Villa in all competitions. With one year left to run on his current contract, Young stated that he would not make a decision on his future until the end of the season. On 20 June 2011, new Villa manager
Alex McLeish admitted that he was resigned to losing Young, stating, "It's not confirmed yet but it does seem likely."
Manchester United in 2011
2011–2014 On 23 June 2011, Young completed a move to Manchester United for an undisclosed fee, reportedly around £17 million, having passed a medical the day before, beating Liverpool to the signing. He signed a five-year deal with the club. He was handed the number 18 shirt previously worn by
Paul Scholes. He made his debut for United in a 3–2
derby win over
Manchester City in the
2011 FA Community Shield, playing the full 90 minutes and making an assist. He made his league debut for United against
West Bromwich Albion on 14 August 2011, setting up the first goal for Wayne Rooney and forcing an own goal after a run down the left flank and cross, in a 2–1 away win. He scored his first two goals for United on 28 August in an 8–2 victory against Arsenal at
Old Trafford. Both occurring after cutting inside from the left flank and bending two right foot shots into the far corner. Young made his debut in the
UEFA Champions League on 27 September 2011, scoring a headed goal in the 90th minute to help Manchester United to a 3–3 draw against
Basel. After a long-term injury, Young returned on the field at
Stamford Bridge in a 3–3 Premier League draw against Chelsea on 5 February 2012. On 16 February, he scored a goal for the lead in a
Europa League 2–0 away win against
Ajax at the
Amsterdam Arena. On 4 March 2012, Young scored two goals and made an assist against
Tottenham Hotspur at
White Hart Lane in a 3–1 Premier League win. On 2 April, he scored in a 2–0 win against Blackburn Rovers at
Ewood Park.
2014–2017 After playing the position in pre-season, Young started in
Louis van Gaal's first competitive game on 16 August 2014 as a
wing-back in a 3–5–2 formation, which saw United lose 2–1 to
Swansea City. He suffered a hamstring injury during a 1–1 draw against
Stoke City on 1 January 2015. Young made his return on 3 February in a 3–0 win against
Cambridge United, coming on in the 81st minute for
Marcos Rojo. On 4 March, Young scored his first goal of the season in a 1–0 victory over Newcastle United. On 12 April, he was named Man of the Match after he scored the equalising goal and provided two assists in a 4–2 home win over Manchester City. He played an instrumental role in United's 2–1 win over Crystal Palace on 9 May, winning a penalty which
Juan Mata converted and providing the assist for
Marouane Fellaini's header, leading to him again being Man of the Match. In the following match on 17 May, Young provided an assist for
Ander Herrera's volley against Arsenal, which finished in a 1–1 draw. Young spent the season playing both on the wing and at wing-back under Van Gaal, the latter being a position which the manager felt was his best. On 7 August 2015, Young signed a new three-year contract with Manchester United, keeping him at the club until June 2018, with the option to extend a further year. Young made only one start in United's opening seven Premier League games, this being in the opening game on 8 August 2015, a 1–0 win against Tottenham Hotspur. On 12 September, Young played through debutant
Anthony Martial to score his first goal for United in a 3–1 victory against
rivals Liverpool. Young returned to the starting XI at left-back on 4 October against Arsenal, ending in a 3–0 away defeat. He started at right-back against West Brom on 7 November, which ended in a 2–0 win for United; this was a position he frequently played during November, December and January due to injury to
Antonio Valencia. On 2 January 2016, Young assisted Anthony Martial with a cross into the box to open the scoring against Swansea City, with the game ending in a 2–1 win for United. Young suffered a 'severe groin injury' against Liverpool on 17 January which led to him being sidelined for several months. He made his return on 10 April against Tottenham Hotspur, replacing
Marcus Rashford at half time, playing upfront in a 3–0 defeat. The decision to play Young as a striker saw Van Gaal face heavy criticism, however the Dutchman defended his actions by explaining he "wanted more running in behind." Young scored his only goal of the season on 17 May, the last day of the Premier League, in a 3–1 win against
AFC Bournemouth after coming on as a substitute for Anthony Martial. On 21 May, he won the FA Cup after defeating Crystal Palace 2–1 in the
final after extra time, playing at both striker and left-back after replacing Marcus Rashford in the 72nd minute – marking his third domestic trophy with the club. The appointment of
José Mourinho as manager led to Young's game time being limited in the first half of the season. His first appearance was on 15 September 2016 in the Europa League against
Feyenoord, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Juan Mata in a 1–0 loss. His first start was against
Northampton Town in the
EFL Cup on 21 September, with Young playing on the wing in a 3–1 victory. Young featured in the next two games as a substitute, against
Leicester City in a 4–1 league victory on 24 September and on 29 September against
Zorya Luhansk in a 1–0 win in the Europa League. From October to January, Young managed to only make four appearances – all of which came as starts at wing-back or at full-back. Despite being limited for chances, one of these came against rivals Liverpool on 17 October, in a 0–0 draw at Anfield. Young's next start came against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup on 19 February 2017, playing the full 90 minutes in the 2–1 away win. After this game Young started to play far more regularly, featuring heavily in March and April. He was an unused substitute for the
2017 EFL Cup Final against
Southampton on 26 February, which United won 3–2. Young made his first assist of the season on 19 March against Middlesbrough, crossing the ball to Marouane Fellaini, who headed in the opening goal of a 3–1 victory. On 16 April, Young captained Manchester United for the first time in a 2–0 win against Chelsea. His season ended after suffering an injury against
Celta Vigo in the Europa League semi-final first leg on 4 May, after coming on for
Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 78th minute.
2017–2020 , playing for Manchester United in 2017 Young's first start of the campaign came at right-back on 12 September 2017 in a 3–0 win against Basel in the Champions League, assisting with the opening goal with a cross to Marouane Fellaini in the 35th minute, he was also captain for the match. His performance led him to start at left-back in United's 4–0 victory over Everton on 17 September. On 28 November, Young scored a brace for the first time since March 2012 against his former club Watford, the opening two goals, one of them being a 30-yard freekick into the top left corner, in a 4–2 win at
Vicarage Road. In February 2019, Young signed a new contract with Manchester United until 2020. He was appointed as United's
club captain in August 2019. Young scored the final goal of his Manchester United career on 12 December 2019, scoring the first in a 4–0 victory against
AZ Alkmaar in the group stages of the
Europa League.
Inter Milan Young signed for Italian
Serie A club
Inter Milan on 17 January 2020 for the remainder of the
2019–20 season, taking the number 15 shirt as the number 18 that he wore at Manchester United was occupied by
Kwadwo Asamoah. His contract also included an option to extend for another season. The transfer fee was reportedly around €1.5 million (£1.28 million). He became one of three former
Premier League players to have signed for Inter Milan in the same window, with
Victor Moses and
Christian Eriksen joining the club soon after. In his first game for the club, Young provided the assist for
Lautaro Martínez in a 1–1 draw against
Cagliari. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss against
Lazio on 16 February. Inter won the
2020–21 Serie A. Young became only the third Englishman to win the league title in Italy, the first being
Jimmy Greaves in
1962 and
Gerry Hitchens in
1963, also for the
Nerazzurri.
Return to Aston Villa On 17 June 2021, Young signed a one-year contract with
Aston Villa to return to the club on a free transfer for a second spell. He officially joined Villa on 1 July, when his Inter contract expired. Upon arrival at Aston Villa he was handed the number 18 shirt that he wore during his time at Manchester United, rather than the number 7 he wore during his first spell at the club. Young made his second debut for Villa on 14 August in a 3–2 defeat at former club Watford. On 10 June 2022, Young was released by Villa. He became a free agent on 1 July, but on 4 July, the club confirmed that Young had re-signed for another season until 2023. On 27 July, Young was named club captain for the upcoming season, with
John McGinn being named on-field captain. On 10 October, he scored from 25 yards against
Nottingham Forest in a 1–1 away draw in the Premier League. It was his first goal in his second spell at Villa, with his previous for The Villans coming in 2011. On 31 May 2023, Villa announced that Young's contract would not be renewed, and he left the club on 30 June.
Everton On 13 July 2023,
Everton announced the signing of Young as a free agent on a one-year contract with an option for a further 12 months, in which he continued to wear his number 18. On 12 August 2023, he made his official debut, playing the full match in a 1–0 loss against
Fulham in the Premier League. On 17 May 2024, the club said it had offered Young a new one-year contract. On 4 December 2024, Young became Everton's oldest goalscorer at the age of 39 years and five months with a 20-yard free-kick in a 4–0 victory against
Wolverhampton Wanderers. This goal also makes him the fourth-oldest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League, only behind
Thiago Silva,
Dean Windass, and
Teddy Sheringham. In May 2025, the club announced that Young would leave at the end of the
2024–25 season at the expiration of his contract.
Ipswich Town On 23 July 2025, Young signed a one-year contract with
Ipswich Town, returning to the
Championship for the first time in over two decades. On 8 August, he made his debut for the club, coming on as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against
Birmingham City in the league. On 30 April 2026, Young announced that he would retire from playing at the end of the season, having made 15 appearances in all competitions for the club. ==International career==