Ashley Young made a fast start to the 2008-09 season in claret and blue - scoring a cracking winner in the second leg clash against Odense at Villa Park.

Young won the Player of the Month prize for September and - having also won the award in April 2008 - he joined the list of players to have won the award more than once, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.

In December 2008, he scored two goals in the 3-2 win over Everton but he will fondly remember the winner as he followed Joleon Lescott's equaliser with a fab solo goal to earn all three points.

Manager Martin O'Neill later described the player as 'world-class' and a 'genius' in the post-match press conference.

After penning a new four-year deal in November, he was awarded Player of the Month for December along with manager O'Neill, who won the Manager of the Month version.

In the process, he became the first player to win three Player of the Month awards in the same year.

The only low point came when he was sent off at the Stadium of Light in January 2009 for a two-footed foul on Sunderland's Dean Whitehead.

He was also rewarded for his form with the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Villa paid an initial £8m to Watford for Ashley Young - and eyebrows were certainly raised about the size of the transfer fee. But the pacy winger is proving to be excellent value for money.