Villa seal Young deal

O'Neill signs his second full-back of the day

Last updated: 7th August 2008

middlesbrough luke young sunderland

Young: Villa switch

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Aston Villa have completed their second signing of the day after wrapping up a deal for Luke Young.

The Middlesbrough defender follows in the footsteps of Nicky Shorey in agreeing personal terms at Villa Park, signing a three-year deal.

Martin O'Neill has been on the lookout for a right-back following Olof Mellberg's move to Juventus and has now landed his man after luring England international Young from The Riverside.

"This was too good an opportunity to miss," Young told the club's official website.

"I'm really pleased to be here at Villa. It's happened quite quickly.One minute I was training up at Boro and the next I'm down here for a medical.

Euro test

"Obviously I'm glad to be here now but it could have been a year earlier. There was interest last summer but it didn't quite happen for whatever reason. I'm just glad to find myself here now."

Young concedes the opportunity to play European football this season was too good to resist.

"I think this is a great opportunity for me to try and win something. I think at the minute Villa are a notch above Boro and there's a great opportunity for me to play European football as well."