Southampton are increasingly confident of signing Brandon Williams on a season-long loan from Manchester United.
The defender is a long-term target for the Saints with the club attempting to bring him in during each of the last two transfer windows. On both occasions Ole Gunnar Solskjaer failed to green light the move as he wanted Williams around for squad depth.
Despite United competing on multiple fronts last season Williams only made 14 appearances in all competitions, contributing a solitary assist.
According to The Athletic, Southampton finally look set to secure the 20-year-old's services this summer. Williams is keen for first team football and has a far better chance of receiving that on the south coast than at Old Trafford.
Although not every detail of the transfer has been agreed, a move looks increasingly likely. One thing that needs to be confirmed is salary contributions. United expect the entirety of Williams' salary to be covered by Southampton and also want a loan fee.
The Red Devils demanded £1.5m from West Ham as part of Jesse Lingard's half-season loan move in January. It is not yet clear how much Ed Woodward values Williams at, but with Southampton such firm admirers of the player this is unlikely to cause an issue. It is believed that an option to buy clause will not be inserted into the agreement, though.
Williams has little chance of displacing Luke Shaw from the United starting XI any time soon but with Alex Telles yet to assert himself in Manchester, he could feasibly be Shaw's long-term successor.
If he does join Southampton he will become the second full-back Ralph Hasenhuttl has signed this window, alongside Romain Perraud who has arrived from Stade Brest. The pair will be filling the void left by Ryan Bertrand, who departed following the expiration of his contract.
Source : 90min