Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has highlighted a number of players who show the future is bright at Old Trafford, with youngster Brandon Williams among those to earn praise from the ex-right-back for an improved period on the pitch.
United have started to recover from a terrible start to the season which had left them in mid-table, after notching their fifth win in six attempts across all competitions thanks to their weekend win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Red Devils have managed to haul themselves back into the race for European football next term and are in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, with the likes of Williams talked up by Neville as a result.
Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast, he said (via Sky Sports): “Barring the Bournemouth defeat it’s been a really good month for United.
“You can see real excitement with Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Daniel James, there is something there to work with. Defensively with Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, there is something there to work with, and the young boy Brandon Williams gives me a great deal of hope.”
It is easy to see why Neville would be upbeat about United given their recent results. Meanwhile, the fact that the players he has highlighted are mostly 21 years old or under, the future could well be brighter than it may have looked to be a couple of months ago.
In the case of Williams, Neville’s hopes are certainly well-placed judging by the 19-year-old’s start in the United first team.
With just 100 minutes of Premier League action under his belt, the teenager has a pass success rate (85.7%) that only a handful of his teammates could claim to better.
Meanwhile, in the Europa League – a competition in which he has started twice – he is one of United’s top performers according to WhoScored, which portrays the Red Devils defence to have excelled in the tournament so far.
So it seems Williams is by no means the only ray of hope for Neville and United – but they may have a special talent on their hands if his early statistics are anything to go by.
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