England head coach Fabio Capello watched Young turn in a star performance during their 4-1 demolition of Blackburn at Villa Park. Young is revelling in the second striker role and scored twice as Villa climbed five points clear of the bottom three.
Pires said: "When you see Ashley play like that, it shows how important it is for Villa to keep him. Ashley is a very good player who plays for the national team."
Young is out of contract in the summer of 2012 and talks over his future have been put on hold until the end of this season. But Pires and Albrighton believe it is vital Gerard Houllier can hold on to his services.
Pires continued: "He is very important here, the fans love him, but you know what football is like.
"I don't know what is happening with Ashley but for me, he should stay at Villa."
Albrighton said: "Ashley was unplayable against Blackburn. I thought Stewart Downing was just as good but probably just got overshadowed by Ashley because he was so good.
"To have players like that, playing to their full capacity is brilliant. To keep Ashley would be brilliant for Villa. It would show we are going forward as a team.
"I think the manager has said he would like to build a team around him, which would be great for the club because he is such a good player.
"I know Ashley is enjoying his football here so hopefully we can keep him and we can go on and have a good future."
Source: PA
Source: PA