Juan Mata has named Ashley Young as one of Manchester United's biggest influences in the dressing room.
Young is the official club captain at United for this season after inheriting the position from the departed Antonio Valencia in the summer, although David de Gea, Paul Pogba and Mata himself are considered candidates for the armband when the 34-year-old isn't playing.
De Gea assumed the captaincy in United's opening two games of the season, before an injury to Luke Shaw gave Young an opportunity at left-back and to take the armband.
Young has sometimes been criticised by supporters in recent years, however Mata says he is a huge influence on his teammates behind closed doors.
"Ashley Young is a leader in the dressing room and he gets everyone ready for the games," the Spaniard said in a promotional campaign for United partner Chivas.
Earlier this week, Mata called for United to use the current international break to take stock and assess where they've gone wrong so far this season. The Spaniard wants his teammates to be more ruthless and clinical against teams like Wolves, Southampton and Crystal Palace — against whom they've dropped points this season.
"In my opinion, you have to look at things by taking a step back from the games themselves, above all in order to improve," he said.
"I believe that at the start of this season we are lacking killer instinct to secure more wins, which is something we obviously need to improve and it’s what we will be working on."
