Young only has one year left on his current contract with Villa and could leave the club on a free transfer at the end of next season.
Friedel told TalkSport: “Youngy has got a year left [on his deal but] I have no idea how his meetings are going with Randy Lerner.
“It gets down to a point that if a player is going to sign his contract then great, that’s fantastic but if he’s not then perhaps you have to cash in for as much money as you can.
“Stewart Downing is completely different, he has multiple years left on his contract and he has been, in my opinion, our best player this season.
“One thing is for sure, you can’t allow both of those players to go in one transfer window especially when you’re the size of club that Villa is but they’re both exceptional talents and if it is possible at all to keep them both then I would try to do so if I was the chairman.”
