Villa ace Young: I almost quit the game at Watford

Young said: “I was told by Watford that they weren’t going to give me the contract I was looking for. It was an important time as I was looking to make the step up from YTS after being there since I was 10.

“I was coming into the club two or three times a week at that stage and going to school in Stevenage at the same time.

“You could say they did a U-turn and took me back, but the reality is that I knuckled down and worked hard on my game. They actually asked me if I wanted to leave or if I wanted to stay. I said I wanted to stay and so they said I had to earn it.

“And for doing that, Watford rewarded me with a contract. I think the reason they didn’t want to keep me was that I was quite small at the time.

“I was a little over five feet tall and they said I wasn’t influencing games as well as I could have been.

“My reaction was to get my head down and work. That was the club I wanted to be at but I knew I had to turn things around to get my contract.”