Ahead of Manchester United’s penultimate Premier League game of the season against West Ham, Jose Mourinho has sung the praises of Ashley Young, who will play his 200th game for the club if he’s selected on Thursday.

Mourinho has acknowledged that he was a player on the sidelines at one point but now he’s one of the first team regulars, playing in 35 games in all competitions this season.

The manager claims that Young will still be an important player for the team next season, although we’re right to hope that United sign another left-back next season, with Luke Shaw presumably set to leave.

When I arrived, he was playing a few matches per season. For the last couple of seasons, lots of injuries, lots of doubts, lots of question marks about his future at the highest level.

In two years, we managed to have him, even with the important injury he had at the end of last season, but we had him for lots of matches, being important, probably going to the World Cup [with Gareth Southgate’s England].

I think he’s better now than he was two years ago. That’s the way I see things and, next year again, he will be an important member of our squad. If he’s now on 200, I hope, next season, he goes into the 250s.