Committed, aggressive and prodigiously hard-working; Brandon Williams really is a prime example of a ‘footballer’s footballer’.
While the Manchester United academy graduate often divides opinion among those who take their viewpoints from Twitter trends, there is a reason why Williams is rapidly emerging as a pundit’s darling.
Paul Scholes thinks the versatile full-back is ‘excellent’.
Gary Neville, meanwhile, resorted to a rather odd turn of phrase to describe Williams’ tough-as-nails, almost old-school approach to defending.
As the Chronicle reports that a battle is developing between Newcastle United and Southampton heading into the January transfer window, with Williams likely to be made available for loan, the opinion of one man matters more than most.
Alan Shearer is a legendary figure at St James’ and St Mary’s after all.
And it took the iconic striker just 90 minutes to realise that Williams, with his never-say-die attitude and fearless mindset, was not your ordinary teenage full-back.
“Special mention to Brandon Williams,” Shearer told Match of the Day on November 11, 2019 after the Manchester-born defender made his first Premier League start in a 3-1 triumph over Brighton.
“On his first Premier League start, he enjoyed a very good game.”
Williams made a remarkable 36 appearances in his breakthrough season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But, thanks to the summer arrival of Alex Telles, he has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford with a loan move looking like the ideal solution.
The Chronicle adds that, due to Steve Bruce’s connections at United, Newcastle have an advantage over Southampton with a month to go until the winter window opens.
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