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 face the bizarre quirk of playing against his son Tyler in the FA Cup third round.

Young, 39, has enjoyed a distinguished 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 regularly features for the Toffees, won the FA Cup with United back in 2015-16 and has played 31 times in the competition.

And on Monday night, Young saw Everton drawn 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 back in October for Darren Ferguson’s side after joining the club in the summer.

Ashley was clearly left excited by the potential prospect of taking on Tyler as he posted on X shortly after the draw concluded.

Tyler Young, 18, plays for Peterborough and the League One side were drawn away at Everton

The Youngs could have a dream encounter if both of them are picked to play in the tie

‘WOW………. Dreams Might Come True #FaCup #GoosebumpsMoment #YoungVsYoung,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Tyler shared a graphic of the fixture announcement on his Instagram account and tagged his dad, before adding two eyes emojis.

If Tyler and Ashley both featured in the game, it would be a fascinating moment, although they would not be the first father-and-son pair to play in the same match.

Back in 1951, Stockport County’s Alex and David Herd were on the same team in a clash 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 brief trial 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 tie against Stevenage, coming on as a substitute for the final 27 minutes of the game. 

Speaking after the match, he had said: ‘It was quite bad weather today, but I feel like I was just ready to go when the gaffer said just get ready. Even with 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 get that long. I was thinking I would maybe get 10-15 minutes on the pitch but when I came on it felt very normal.

Young won the FA Cup with Man United in 2016 and has played 31 times in the competition

Both Ashley and Tyler expressed their excitement on social media after the draw was made

‘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 game of football. The trophy is a good competition for young players.’

Ashley subsequently took to social media to share a series of pictures of Tyler’s debut with the accompanying caption: ‘Proud doesn’t even begin to explain this moment for you. Congrats on your debut son and hopefully many many more to come.’

Tyler hasn’t featured for the Posh since, meaning he may be unlikely to play against Everton, although he has been on the bench in two League One games. 

Peterborough currently sit 13th in the third tier, but will fancy their chances against an Everton team who have failed to score in four games and won just one of their past seven matches.

The clash, which is set to be at Goodison Park, will take place over the weekend of Saturday, January 11.