The England defender completed a medical to become the second new full-back to arrive at Villa Park on Thursday following the capture of Nicky Shorey from Reading.

"I'm really pleased to be here at Villa. It's happened quite quickly. One minute I was training up at Boro and the next I'm down here for a medical," he told www.avfc.co.uk.

"Obviously I'm glad to be here now, but it could have been a year earlier," he added. "There was interest last summer, but it didn't quite happen for whatever reason. I'm just glad to find myself here now.

"I think this is a great opportunity for me to try and win something. I think at the minute Villa are a notch above Boro, and there's a great opportunity for me to play European football as well."

The former Tottenham and Charlton defender, 29, has seven England caps but has not featured for the national team since a friendly against Argentina in November 2005.

He could make his first competitive appearance for the Villans in next week's UEFA Cup qualifier against FH Hafnarfjordur, and Young admits the promise of European football was a major element in his decision to leave the Riverside Stadium.

"The chance of European football was definitely an important factor in my decision. You always want to test yourself at the highest level," he said.

"I had a brief stint playing European football at Tottenham. But that was almost 10 years ago, and it will be great to get another chance this season.

"It's definitely a case that Villa's ambitions match my own. I've worked hard over the last 10 years to perhaps get this chance to show what I can do on a little bit of a higher stage."