The former Burnley and Aston Villa midfielder moved to the US to play for Charlotte FC in January 2023 and he's found the standard of the game in America to be "very tough".

He told World Soccer magazine: "It's really tough. I speak with Nathan Byrne about it a lot as he's played in the Championship.

"It's very similar, it's a physical league, it's intense and everyone's fit.

"But we obviously have the Designated Players and they're incredible.

"They're like Premier League quality and they're usually all at the top end of the pitch.

"That makes the difference. It's like Championship level but with a sprinkle of Premier League quality, so it's a very tough league."

Ashley loves the "incredible" atmosphere at Charlotte games.

He said: "The first game of the 2024 season we opened the top tier [or seating] and I think we got 63,000.

"We played Inter Miami in the last game of last season to get into the play-offs and we had around 75,000 there.

"It doesn't feel like an NFL stadium, its incredible.

"We've got a passionate supporters section behind the goal who are just wild.

"There are drums going and it's a special atmosphere.

"They've done a good job because it doesn't feel forced, it feels natural.

"It's more of a party atmosphere than in England, where you always feel like it's on edge."