Manchester United prepare 12-month extension for Ashley Young ahead of January enquiries... one year after he rejected £12million-a-year China deal

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Ashley Young is set to be the subject of more interest in the January transfer window after it emerged that he turned down a £12million-a-year offer from Chinese club Shandong Luneng.

Young enjoyed one of his best games for Manchester United against his old club Watford on Tuesday night when he scored twice in a 4-2 win at Vicarage Road.

United are set to trigger the 12-month extension in Young's £120,000-a-week contract that will tie him to Old Trafford until the summer of 2019, but it's understood that his representatives want another year on top of that for a player who turns 33 in July.

Ashley Young has made an unlikely return to the forefront of the Manchester United first team

Other clubs are aware of the sticking point in negotiations and United are expecting enquiries in January, 12 months after Young rejected a huge £230,000-a-week offer to move to the Chinese Super League with Shandong.

There was also interest from Roma and Spanish clubs in the summer when Young was said to be on stand-by to leave Old Trafford right up until deadline day.

It's understood that there was also a surprise approach from Chelsea, but United would not countenance the move because Young was in their plans to play left wing-back this season.

Young scored twice in United's 4-2 victory over his former club Watford on Tuesday night

The 32-year-old former Aston Villa winger has reinvented himself in a more defensive role at United to the extent that he is now first choice ahead of Daley Blind, Luke Shaw and Matteo Darmian, and earned an England recall earlier this month after a four-year absence from the international scene.

But Young gave a reminder of what he can do in attack at Watford when he scored United's first with a fine finish from the edge of the box before executing a sensational free-kick for the second.

He didn't mind upsetting the home fans by celebrating his first goals since May 2016 after seeing his winning effort against Brighton at the weekend given as an own-goal for Lewis Dunk.

His recent form has seen him earn a recall into the England setup under Gareth Southgate

'I said that I was trying to get that goal, but it wasn't meant to be,' said Young. 'Obviously to get the two goals at Watford I wanted to make sure they were mine.

'The most important thing was to get the three points, but getting on the scoresheet was nice on my homecoming. I don't think they (the fans) were too happy about it but it's one of those things. If I score goals, of course I am going to celebrate.

'I think I will be on the free-kicks after that one. As soon as we got the free-kick, I grabbed the ball and I knew where I was going to put it.

'I'm a professional player and obviously I made my roots here, but when you score a goal you always want to celebrate.'

The 32-year-old revealed he rejected a £12million-a-year move to the Chinese Super League

United suffered another injury setback when Nemanja Matic limped off with a muscle injury after Marouane Fellaini was ruled out of the game with a knee problem.

It's unclear if it is the same medial ligament injury that forced Fellaini to miss six games in October, but Jose Mourinho can ill afford to lose him and Matic for two big Premier League fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester City.

With Michael Carrick still working his way back to fitness after a heart scare, that would leave the United boss with just three fit central midfielders in Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and Scott McTominay. 

Jose Mourinho wants to tie Young down to a contract extension ahead of January offers