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Man Utd’s Brandon Williams has already perfected the art of sh*thousery

Manchester United’s academy has produced some of the best players in the world – and now they’ve created the perfect sh*thouse.

Brandon Williams has emerged as a bright spark in a disappointing season for United, cementing himself as their first-choice left-back ahead of Luke Shaw.

But while his performances have certainly been impressive, it’s his sh*thousery that has really caught our attention.

Williams started the season in United’s academy but has burst onto the scene in recent weeks and the 19-year-old hasn’t looked back since.

After impressing in the Europa League, Williams showed that he could give United an attacking outlet with his marauding runs down the touchline.

The Mancunian also isn’t afraid to get stuck in and has endeared himself to the Old Trafford crowd with his aggression while going toe-to-toe with an opponent.

Williams didn’t waste much time before revealing this mean streak to the rest of the footballing world, and Callum Hudson-Odoi has the bruises to prove it.

The defender wasn’t overawed by the Chelsea winger and rose to the challenge before becoming the villain of the piece in the second half.

As the pair tussled for the ball near the touchline, Williams hurled Hudson-Odoi over the advertising boards and left him sprawled out on the floor.

He clearly had no qualms about helping the winger off the field and didn’t show any remorse as his opponent received treatment from Chelsea’s physios.

Williams was at it once again on his first Premier League start, shoving Brighton’s Neal Maupay into the hoardings just for the fun of it.

This behaviour and no nonsense defending will see him become a fan favourite at Old Trafford, but it may be regarded as unsportsmanlike by neutrals.

Rival fans have already taken a sudden dislike to Williams. although getting under the skin of those supporters is the biggest compliment a sh*thouse can get.

The 19-year-old takes no prisoners with his defending and got involved in another heated bust-up with Wolves winger Pedro Neto in an FA Cup replay.

But the fearless teenager can handle himself and clearly enjoys the physical side of the game, so he stood his ground, refusing to be bullied.

He may not look particularly threatening but appearances can be deceiving and beneath that youthful exterior is a fiery character with an appetite for a scrap.

After all, Williams is the cousin of the super featherweight English boxing champion Zelfa Barrett, so the fighting spirit must run in the family.

He plays with his heart on his sleeve and could probably start a fight in an empty room, but that’s exactly the sort of character that United have been missing in recent years.

“I think Brandon has been absolutely outstanding since he came in,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said earlier this month.

“Every challenge he has tackled head on. He’s only 19 and he’s made 12 starts and he reminds me so much of the mentality of Gary Neville.”

What’s even more impressive about these three incidents is that he wasn’t penalised for any of them. Sure, it may not be in keeping with the laws of the game, but more importantly he got away with it.

United pride themselves on being the pantomime villains and have a long history of sh*thousing, from Roy Keane threatening Patrick Vieira in the tunnel at Highbury to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s GOAT professional foul.

The days of Keane being a detriment to the safety of his opponents may be long gone, but there’s still plenty of room for Williams’ snide behaviour in the modern game.

If anyone should know about what it takes to be a United full-back it is Gary Neville, and Williams already earned his approval.

As Neville says, being able to play football is certainly a bonus, but it’s not the always most important trait for a defender.

Watching on as Daniel James failed to stop Mohamed Salah from racing down on goal in the closing stages of Liverpool’s 2-0 win on Sunday, United fans could only dream that Williams was still on the pitch.

By Nathan Egerton


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