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£65,000-a-week former Sheffield United 'transfer target' facing prison sentence after huge Man Utd fall
He was once a Manchester United prodigy and on the radar of Sheffield United - but just a few short years later, he is without a club and facing the possibility of a prison sentence. Brandon Williams was linked with the Blades back in 2021, with reports that the original United had made a move to sign him on loan in January that year.
Instead he had spells at Norwich City and Ipswich Town before being released by the Red Devils and has been without a club ever since. He has also had a difficult time off the pitch, pleading guilty to dangerous driving after crashing his car at 99mph on the A34 in Cheshire back in August 2023.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail with his defence team pushing for a community service punishment, according to the Daily Mail. He will be sentenced on May 9 this year.
Williams rose to prominence after breaking into the Old Trafford side and scored for his boyhood club at Bramall Lane in an entertaining 3-3 draw, with saw the Blades go ahead before the visitors scored three times in eight minutes and Oli McBurnie netted a dramatic late leveller.
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The Mail reported that Williams has amassed a huge 30 penalty points and has twice been banned from driving since his high-speed crash. Still only 24 years old, Williams harbours ambitions of resurrecting his football career but much may depend on the sentence handed down next month.
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Williams was arrested and breathalysed after receiving hospital treatment following the crash, but tests for alcohol and drugs returned negative. Senior prosecutor Andrew Madden believed it was “fortunate [that] no one was seriously injured or killed” in the incident, adding that Williams' actions “clearly fell far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver.”
Williams’ loan spell at Ipswich was ended early and he returned to Manchester to train alone under the guidance of former Blade Mark Dempsey, now a coach with the Red Devils. He was released at the end of that season and has since taken up boxing training in a bid to stay fit ahead of the next potential opportunity in a career that initially promised so much.