Southampton have suffered a setback in their pursuit of Manchester United full-back Brandon Williams, following an injury lay-off to his teammate Alex Telles [Hampshire Live].

The Lowdown: Southampton gear up for 2021/22

Looking to improve on a disappointing 15th placed finish last term, Southampton manager Ralph Hassenhuttl will be hoping to acquire the personnel necessary to bring around significant on-field improvement in 2021/22.

Wasting no time in terms of recruitment, the Austrian boss has brought in three reinforcements in the form of Theo Walcott, Romain Perraud and Olly Lancashire [Transfermarkt].

However, they have now encountered some problematic circumstances surrounding their latest pursuit.

The Latest: Williams pursuit takes hit after Telles injury

Having a keen eye on 20-year-old Williams for a while, Southampton had already been set back in their chase by his pre-season involvement with the Red Devils due to Luke Shaw still recovering from playing at EURO 2020 [Hampshire Live].

Moreover, the South Coast club now have to contend with the news that Williams’ counterpart Alex Telles has been ruled out for six weeks with an ankle injury, which means he is likely to stay at Old Trafford.

The 5 foot 7 ace has also been mentioned by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in recent times, as he said: "We’ve got kids wanting to play of course. Brandon has done well in the left-back position."

The Verdict: Bitter blow for Southampton

Frustratingly, this setback will give Hassenhuttl added concern ahead of the forthcoming campaign - this is a player he has been chasing as far back as January.

In 2020/21, Williams registered a solitary assist across 19 appearances combined for Manchester United and Manchester United Under-23’s [Transfermarkt].

Impressing with his passing ability across the campaign, the versatile defender recorded a passing accuracy of 84.6% [WhoScored].

Once labelled as ‘absolutely outstanding’ by his boss, Southampton will now have to either bide their time in order to secure his services or move on to other targets.

In other news, Southampton have completed a deal for a Premier League defender.