Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal identifies his tailor-made player in Ashley Young

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says versatile footballer Ashley Young fits perfectly when it comes to the style of player he wants to work with at Old Trafford.

The 29-year-old England international moved to the Premier League giants in the summer of 2011 after then manager Sir Alex Ferguson agreed to pay around £17m ($26m) to Aston Villa to secure his services.

In 2014, some reports claimed the winger would leave the club following the £59.7m arrival of Angel Di Maria.

But Young has managed to become an important player for the Dutch manager due to his versatility in covering in Di Maria's midfield role and Luke Shaw's left wing-back position during the first part of the campaign.

Van Gaal praised Young after he scored a crucial goal in the 89<sup>th minute of the game against Newcastle on 4 March to lead his side to a 1-0 victory at St James Park.

"He is a player who wants to perform what you say. I think he fits good in my profile," Van Gaal told MUTV. "We have played also with wing-backs and I think that is his best position. Now I use him as a winger and he does a very good job. I am pleased with him."

Meanwhile, the manager hailed the improvement showed by his entire squad at St James Park, claiming it was United's best away performance since he took charge of the team in 2014.

"We are progressing still, which is why I was pleased with the performance [on Wednesday] as it was a better way of playing," he added. "I was not pleased that we didn't score from [some of] the chances but OK, it's going well. We didn't lose unnecessary balls, or not as many as before. I was pleased with our composure on the ball."