Who is Tyler Young? Peterborough star ready for FA Cup fairytale against father Ashley Young
Peterborough star set for history-making FA Cup fairytale against father Ashley Young
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Your support makes all the difference.No father and son have played against each other in 154 years of the FA Cup, but all that could change at Goodison Park tonight when Everton host Peterborough.
Premier League veteran Ashley Young, 39, might go head-to-head with his 18-year-old son Tyler and the contrast in their careers couldn’t be starker.
While Tyler is yet to make his League debut for the Posh, father Ashley has racked up in excess of 600 career appearances, making his first team debut nearly two years before his son was even born.
While Young Snr is famed for his versatility, young Tyler, who made his senior debut as a substitute in the 2-0 EFL Trophy defeat of Stevenage, is an energetic midfielder with a reputation for picking a pass and the ability to make potent runs beyond the strikers.
With his father established as a stalwart of the Premier League and having also made 39 appearances for his country, Tyler began football life in the Arsenal Academy before switching to Milton Keynes Dons as a youngster.
He then joined QPR but the Hoops let him go last summer because of financial cutbacks, meaning Peterborough swooped to acquire his services.
“Tyler will be on the bench though I can’t guarantee he’s going to get on,” Posh manager Darren Ferguson confirmed on Wednesday.
"When we signed him, the first couple of months he was outstanding. He came on in a first-team game and did very well. He had a little bit of a dip, as young players do, but he’s got talent.
“He couldn’t have a better role model than his dad, still playing at 40ish. To do that, you have to be at it every day.”
For Young Sr, drawing Peterborough has given him the opportunity to enjoy a career high at the advanced age of 39.
He said: “I saw that we’d been drawn against Peterborough and like I said for years, if there was any way that we could play against each other or play with each other, it would be the pinnacle of my career. It would eclipse everything I’ve done.”
Talking about the chance to face his dad, Tyler said: “It means a lot, even to be playing against my dad, but even to play in the FA Cup, which has got so much history.
He joked: “If I was to nutmeg my dad he probably wouldn’t even say I was allowed back in the house.”
As usual father Ashley, ever the hardened professional, cut through the sentimentality with the last word: “He’s 18 years old, he’s an adult, he’s going to have to look after himself on the pitch. If there’s a tackle there, whether it’s me or someone else, it’s just what happens.”
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