Brighton are interested in signing Manchester United full-back Brandon Williams for £ 15 million, as Graham Potter prepares to fill the void that could be left by Marc Cucurella.
Marc Cucurella enjoyed a solid debut campaign with Brighton following his move from Getafe last summer, with his flying performances catching Manchester City’s attention as a result. Manchester City have already had a bid rejected for the Spaniard but are expected to return with an improved offer and lure him away to the Etihad Stadium. And the Seagulls have identified Brandon Williams as a potential replacement for the Man City-bound Cucurella.
Brandon Williams, 21, highly rated at Manchester United, made his senior debut in 2019 and has since made 50 appearances, scoring once and supplying three assists. However, he was farmed out on loan to Norwich City last season, where he played 29 times as the Canaries suffered relegation from the English top flight.
Now back at Old Trafford, the former England Under-20 international’s hopes of regular game time look slim under new manager Erik ten Hag following the arrival of Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord. Malacia is expected to be fighting for the left-back spot with Luke Shaw in the upcoming season. Alex Telles is also an option at left-back for Ten Hag, leaving Williams way down the pecking order at the moment.
Thus, Man United are ready to offload Williams for £15m this summer, as Ten Hag continues his rebuild at Old Trafford.
Brandon Williams could be worth the investment for Brighton
Brighton are mindful of Marc Cucurella’s desire to join Manchester City, who have made reinforcing the left-back position a priority following the sale of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal.
As Cucurella is only one year into his five-year contract at the Amex Stadium, Graham Potter is reluctant to let the left wing-back leave on a cheap. Therefore, the Seagulls have rejected City’s opening £30 million bid and have told them to significantly improve their offer if they wish to land the Spaniard.
Nonetheless, Potter is wasting no time in getting potential replacements for Cucurella lined up. The Brighton boss is interested in Brandon Williams and could be boosted in his pursuit considering the situation the English full-back currently finds himself at Man United.
For Brighton, Williams could potentially replace Cucurella at left wing-back in Potter’s favoured 3-4-2-1 system. Being a right-footed operator, he can also play on the other side of the backline and compete with Tariq Lamptey and Joel Veltman. The United graduate’s aggressive, attacking and no-nonsense style of play could see him flourish under the watchful eyes of Potter.
As things stand, Williams will likely have to leave his boyhood club to secure first-team football this campaign. Off all the places, Brighton would be an attractive destination and a deal for £15m should represent the smart business.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
