London - Ashley Young, regarded as one of England's rising stars, has extended his contract with Aston Villa, the club confirmed on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old forward, who has won three England caps, signed a new four-year deal, tying him to Villa until the summer of 2012.

Young joined Villa in January 2007 from Watford for almost 10 million pounds (16.1 million dollars).

The forward is the latest in a line of Villa players to commit themselves to the club instead of moving elsewhere, following on from the examples of John Carew, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Wilfred Bouma and Craig Gardner. (dpa)