Bent fears United will land Ash
Aston Villa striker Darren Bent fears Manchester United will prove too strong a lure for his Villa Park team-mate Ashley Young this summer.
Young has only one year remaining of his current contract at Villa and is being linked with a move to either Manchester United or Liverpool.
But Bent hopes Young can stay for at least one more season at Villa as the duo prepare to meet up next week for England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley on June 4.
Villa's record signing Bent said: "Every day I'm in Ashley's ear going 'please just give us one more year, one more year, one more year!'
"I'm sure when we're away with England, I'll be giving it the same.
"Ashley has been fantastic for Aston Villa. There's not one person who could say that he hasn't served his time here in the last four or five years.
"He's won club award after club award. I think he's been fantastic and if we could get another year out of him - or two years - then it would be brilliant."
Bent concedes that the lure of Champions League football - if Young signs for United - would be hard to resist.
He said: "When you've got teams like Manchester United and other Champions League sides coming in for him, then it makes it very difficult.
"But if we can keep hold of him, I'll be delighted. I don't know if it's a done deal yet.
"It's about ambitions at the end of the day. When Manchester United and Chelsea and those kind of clubs come calling it makes it difficult.
"I don't know whether the other players have been trying to convince Ashley to stay but I know I have!
"Every day I'm on at him asking him to stay. He'll probably try to get away from me! But he's been fantastic and I really hope we can keep him."
Liverpool are also reportedly interested in Young, who cost Villa £9.65million when he arrived from Watford in January 2007.