Ashley Young set to face his SON, 18, in FA Cup third round – as 39-year-old Everton star is left in shock after Toffees draw Peterborough
Ashley Young could have to deal with the bizarre oddity of playing his son Tyler in the third round of the FA Cup.
Young, 39, has had an impressive career that has seen the veteran make 724 appearances for the likes of Watford, Aston Villa, Man United, Inter Milan and Everton.
The defender, who still plays regularly for the Toffees, won the FA Cup with United in 2015/16 and has made 31 appearances in the competition.
And on Monday night, Young saw Everton draw against Peterborough in the third round in what could prove to be a dream encounter for the 39-year-old.
Young’s son Tyler, who is 18, plays for Peterborough and made his debut for Darren Ferguson’s side in October after joining the club in the summer.
Ashley was clearly excited by the potential prospect of taking on Tyler, as he posted on X shortly after the draw ended.
Ashley Young could face the bizarre oddity of playing his son Tyler in the third round of the FA Cup
Tyler Young, 18, plays for Peterborough and the League One side were drawn away from Everton
The Youngs could have a dream match if they are both picked to play in the tie
‘WOW………. Dreams can come true #FaCup #GoosebumpsMoment #YoungVsYoung,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tyler shared an image of the match announcement on his Instagram account and tagged his dad, before adding two-eye emojis.
If Tyler and Ashley were both featured in the game, it would be a fascinating moment, although they wouldn’t be the first father-and-son pair to appear in the same match.
In 1951 Stockport County’s Alex and David Herd were in the same team in a match against Hartlepool, while former Chelsea star Eidur Gudjohnsen replaced his father Arnor as a substitute in 1996 when he made his debut for Iceland.
Tyler joined Peterborough in the summer after a short trial period at the club, following his release from Arsenal’s academy, where he had spent much of his youth career.
He made his debut in an EFL Trophy match against Stevenage, coming on as a substitute for the final 27 minutes of the match.
After the match he said: ‘It was quite bad weather today but I felt like I was just ready to go when the gaffer said get ready. Despite the delay, I was still ready to go. So I just dealt with it all.
‘But it was a great experience. I didn’t expect to last this long. I thought I might get ten to fifteen minutes on the field, but when I came on the field it felt completely normal.
Young won the FA Cup with Man United in 2016, making 31 appearances in the competition
Both Ashley and Tyler expressed their excitement on social media after the drawing took place
‘It was just playing football and doing what I would normally do week-in, week-out.
“I deal with the pressure by remembering it’s just a football game. The trophy is good competition for young players.”
Ashley then took to social media to share a series of photos from Tyler’s debut with the caption: “Pride doesn’t even begin to explain this moment to you.” Congratulations on your debut son and hopefully many more to come.”
Tyler has not played for the Posh since, meaning he is unlikely to feature against Everton, although he has been on the bench in two League One matches.
Peterborough are currently 13th in the third tier but will fancy their chances against an Everton team who have not scored in four games and have won just one of their past seven matches.
The clash, which will take place at Goodison Park, will take place on the weekend of Saturday, January 11.