It's just a few years since Ashley Young was desperately trying to prove himself at his local club.
Championship side Watford had their doubts about the speedy, but gangly and lightweight teenager and as a 16-year-old he was refused an apprenticeship.
But the Hornets’ coaching staff believed they had seen enough talent in the raw youngster to give him another shot, and to Young’s relief another six-month trial was offered.
Fast forward to 2011 and Young, now a star of the Premier League and jet-heeled England international, has repaid that faith in spectacular style with a move to 19-times champions Manchester United.
Now, after just over four years earning rave reviews at Aston Villa, the spotlight will really be on Young’s every appearance, and the pressure to prove himself will be greater than anything he experienced on the training grounds in Hertfordshire.
Aidy Boothroyd, one of those first managers at Watford to recognise that Young just be a special talent, has no doubt he will rise to the challenges ahead.
Boothroyd, manager of Watford from March 2005, when he took Young and his team-mates into the Premier League, reckons United have bought themselves a hybrid of Nani and Ji-Sung Park, a versatile player who can play on the wing or upfront, and will end up being Ryan Giggs’ long-term successor.
And Boothroyd is looking forward to watching the next chapter in Young’s career under Sir Alex Ferguson after he left Watford for Villa in January 2007 for £9.65m.
He said: “Sir Alex will have done his homework and won’t be taking a player he didn’t think could add to them.
“Ashley has the work-ethic Park has got and I think he has got some of the quality and unpredictability to beat a player and create like Nani and Luis Antonio Valencia have got.
“He is sort of a mixture or hybrid of them - plus he is British which makes a big difference.
“He has done very well since he left Watford, he has had a little taste of European football, he has had a little taste of international football and now he is going to go on the biggest stage of all.
“It is a real competitive environment he is going into but it is one I am sure he will relish and will do really well in.
“The most important thing you have to do at United after you have won is win again.
“That will suit Ashley as he likes to win games and is a winner.”
Under Boothroyd’s tutelage at Vicarage Road, Young established himself in the first team and steered the Hornets into the top-flight before joining Villa.
And Boothroyd is confident the Stevenage-born star will blossom further at Old Trafford.
He added: “Ashley can cope with the stage - things don’t faze him.
“He had so much belief in himself that given the stage he would provide the goods and he has certainly done that.
“He is really able to cope with the big stage which is the biggest compliment I can give him and probably the most important thing he is going to need at United.”
Young has consistently been one of Villa’s best players with numerous assists and has notched nine goals in each of the last four seasons.
He joined as a winger but has this season also turned into a versatile forward capable of playing off the main striker.
He was still overlooked by England manager Fabio Capello for last summer’s 2010 World Cup though.
But Boothroyd believes Young will use that as future motivation after he decided against penning a new contract at Villa Park to move on.
Boothroyd added: “He was really disappointed not to have gone away with England at the last World Cup.
“He’ll want to put that right and get in Fabio’s plans and make sure he is a main player for club and country.
“He is not a guy to rest on his laurels. He will want to be the best he can be.
“He will provide not only crosses and great deliveries at set plays but has the ability to play off the front or on the right or left.
“At United, the only players who tend to remain in the same positions are the two centre-backs, the goalkeeper and a midfield holding player.
“Everyone else is very flexible in how they attack and Ashley can fit into that because he is a multi-purpose footballer.”
England’s World Cup flop last summer has given Young more chances on the international stage this season and he has bagged two England goals.
Young heads to Old Trafford in his prime ahead of his 26th birthday next month.
But Boothroyd refuses to take too much credit for Young’s development, adding: “I am a big believer cream always rises to the top.
“All I ever did was give him a platform to perform. At 16 he wasn’t given an apprenticeship but was asked to come back on a six-month trial which he did.
“He earned his apprenticeship and I don’t think he has looked back since.”
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