Williams reveals the key to his success
Williams reveals secret of his instant success at United
BRANDON Williams has revealed his love of defending has been a huge factor in his success with United this season.
The 19-year-old has surpassed expectations at Old Trafford, breaking into the senior set-up under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
It has been quite an emergence, since Williams didn’t travel on the first team’s pre-season tour last summer, yet he has capitalised on his opportunities and has made 25 appearances this season.
He has explained that his love for one-on-one defending - and ability not to be overawed by the calibre of his opponents - has helped him settle into the first team.
“When you get the team sheet, you know what this player can do,” Williams said. “You could be playing against [Adama] Traore one week, you know what he’s going to do and where he’s going.
“Then the next week you’re playing against Riyad Mahrez and you know he’s coming inside or he wants to chop back.
“To succeed, I think you always need to love defending and love the job of defending. Don’t get too overwhelmed by all the attackers and the flair stuff. Just do your job, work hard and try to improve in every area, as much as possible.
“It’s all about concentration. If you’re making a last-ditch tackle it means you didn’t do something right 30 seconds before. If you’ve got the concentration and you’re solid, then it’s difficult for teams to get past you, as we’re showing now with the number of clean sheets going up.”
Williams will look to renew his rivalry with Luke Shaw for the left-back position in Solskjaer’s team when football resumes.
Meanwhile, Fred says he would love to see more Brazilian players at United.
The 27-year-old has also shone this season and is one of the front-runners for the club’s player of the season award.
Fred’s form in midfield has helped the club cope with the absence of Paul Pogba for the majority of the campaign. United are looking to add top homegrown talent to their squad, but Fred who is only the seventh Brazilian to play for United – thinks they should be looking at adding a few more of his countrymen.
He said: “It would be cool to have more Brazilians on the team.
“Everyone knows the qualities that we Brazilians have and it’d be very good if some players arrive to fill the squad, to help here.”