Manchester United defender Brandon Williams is set to join Norwich City on a season-long loan, report Laurie Whitwell and Michael Bailey of The Athletic.
Norwich want to get the deal done in time for their EFL Cup tie against Bournemouth, and Manchester United want to wait until after this weekend’s game against Southampton before officially pushing through the move.
Brandon Williams Set for Norwich City Loan
Norwich Ahead of the Competition
Williams has been a sought-after player this summer, with Southampton looking a likely destination at one point. The Saints had also tried to land the 20-year-old in January.
What appeared to put them off was United’s insistence on a £2 million loan fee, although The Athletic report that Norwich will be paying considerably less than that fee.
They add that even though the fee with Southampton came down to £1.7 million, the deal still collapsed, and a new team has been sought since then.
Williams was on the bench for United’s 5-1 win over Leeds United on the opening day of the season. Luke Shaw was in the starting line-up and Alex Telles is still working his way back to full fitness.
Future of Brandon Williams
The resurgence of Shaw at Manchester United has seen Williams handed fewer and fewer opportunities since he really came onto the scene in 2019.
The signing of Telles last summer pushed him down in the pecking order and as such, the defender wants to leave on loan to get regular playing time elsewhere.
Fitting in at Norwich
Williams is able to play in either of the full-back positions, which Norwich have covered by Max Aarons and Dimitris Giannoulis.
However, they are light for cover in those positions, with Bali Mumba still transitioning to a right-back after arriving as a central midfielder and Sam Byram regaining fitness after a torrid time with injuries.
Norwich had initially been keeping their second domestic loan spot open with the hope of re-signing Oliver Skipp from Tottenham Hotspur. The midfielder was a key part of the Canaries’ Championship title success last season.
Skipp started in Spurs’ 1-0 win over Manchester City at the weekend and looks to be in Nuno Espirito Santo’s plans for the rest of the season.
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