Everton player addresses his future after recently being called 'excellent' by Sean Dyche

Ashley Young has revealed that he plans on continuing his playing career after this season - despite turning 39 in the summer.

Young joined Everton on a free transfer from Aston Villa last summer. He's been a regular for Sean Dyche when fit, having mainly operated as a full-back.

After recently returning from a hamstring injury, having missed eight matches, the former England international has started the past four games for the Toffees. He's played as a right-midfielder, with Everton earning draws against Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.

Young's Goodison Park contract expires at the end of the season. And while the veteran 38-year-old's focus is on the Blues' battle for Premier League survival, he's leaving his future in the club's hands although has no plans of returning.

“I am just thinking about what games are coming up," Young said via the Independent. “That is down to the club when they want to sit down and talk to me about it. For me, it is just playing games and getting to the next game."

Asked if he plans to continue playing on next season, Young replied: “Yeah, of course I do."

After last Saturday's 2-2 draw against Tottenham, with Jarrad Branthwaite rescuing a deserved point with a stoppage-time equaliser, Dyche felt that Young was excellent during the game. The Everton boss said: "The underbelly of a successful side is not just about the quality but about the work ethic and the belief, the work ethic and respect and the honesty of what you do. There are players out there within this group... [Idrissa] Gana [Gueye] has just got back he's been travelleing (from AFCON) and I thought he was excellent. Youngy is coming back from injury and I thought he was ezcellent, Seamus is coming back from injury, Ben Godfrey did very well again.

"So many good signs of players committed to the cause. Sometimes that gets overlooked. We are stretched to the limit - I'm not saying that, it's just a fact - but I'm not speaking to the players about that. I'm going: 'Lads this is a side I believe I can win and you should believe in each other and I thought that was on show again."