Southampton: Saints “in driving seat” to sign main January transfer target

Southampton are reportedly “in the driving seat” to sign Manchester United full-back Brandon Williams in the January transfer window.

That is according to a report from Eurosport, with reporter Dean Jones confirming that Saints are ahead of other clubs in the race to secure the United youngster on-loan this month.

The report also confirms that Sheffield United are interested in taking Williams to Bramall Lane to help with their battle against relegation.

Being ahead of other clubs is certainly positive news for Saints as they look to secure much-needed cover for their full-back positions. If Eurosport’s information is to be proven correct it also appears that other previous reports from other publications were false.

Mixed messages were sent about Williams’ eventual destination during this window with many different sources reporting different sides of the story.

Sky Sports and an early Telegraph report confirmed that Saints were still very interested in taking the 20-year-old on-loan, but the Shields Gazette, United insider Jonathan Shrager and a follow up report from the Telegraph suggested that those at St Mary’s would not be getting their man.

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• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
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Further word now on Saints looking likely to sign him shows that this saga is still very much in their own hands though.

Williams has been a bright spark for Manchester United since breaking into their first-team back in 2019. To date, he has played 42 games for the Red Devils and looks to have a good chance at becoming a regular at Old Trafford in the future.

Saints are so keen to bring him to the South Coast because of his ability to put high-quality performances in at both right and left-back, meaning he can provide excellent cover for Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Bertrand.

Two of Williams’ senior appearances for United came against Saints and his showings in those games perhaps caught the eye of Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The Austrian will be keen to bring one or two new faces in between now and the end of the window to help give his team that injection of energy to keep them at the top end of the Premier League table.