Manchester United fans need any hope they can get as another season threatens to go nowhere under Ruben Amorim, and a loanee has provided just that.
In a summer where 18 loans were sanctioned under the eye of new loan manager Jonny Evans, it’s just pragmatic thinking that not everyone will eventually make it at Old Trafford.
There are some, like Radek Vitek and Harry Amass, who are shining and being marked as future first-teamers, but the real success story, relatively might be elsewhere.
He was Man Utd’s pre-season hero who went on loan, and just three months later, his performances are increasingly meriting “wonderkid” status.
Jack Fletcher, Ethan Williams and Bendito Mantato after Manchester United game on USA tour.
Photo by Daniel Bartel – Premier League/Getty Images
Man Utd will be pleasantly surprised by Ethan Williams
Generally, if a player spends a season on loan in the third or fourth division when he’s already close to leaving his teenage years, the expectations need to be tempered.
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Split image of Marcus Rashford in Barcelona jacket looking to the side and Harry Amass in Sheffield Wednesday kit looking to the side.
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Someone like Harry Kane is a huge exception to the norm, because breakouts that late just don’t happen enough.
That is why Ethan Williams impressing at Cheltenham Town on a six-month loan last season didn’t really do much for his status at Man Utd.
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His profile did receive a sharp rise when he scored during this year’s pre-season, but that is a time when everyone is experimenting, and so it proved.
At the age of 20, he was promptly sent on loan to Scottish side Falkirk, hardly heavyweights in their nation, but nonetheless a step up for Williams.
After 862 minutes in the league, Williams is starting to prove that those who wrote him off early could be wrong as he continues to stage a breakthrough in senior football.
Williams has gone from strength to strength for a Falkirk side who have been distinctly average. He regularly stands out as one of the better players in their games, and that’s partly down to his creative abilities.
Williams is creating a chance every 47 minutes in the league this season (1.88/90 minutes), for a side that has scored just 19 goals in 16 games.
The Man Utd loanee has become a creative hub of the team while adding the odd goal to his game, playing on the right wing.
Williams merits wonderkid status
“Wonderkid” as a term is thrown around too casually, but even the most casual use of the term would not see Williams billed as one.
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Ruben Amorim in Manchester United attire during loss to Everton.
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
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He’s 20 and was playing in the fourth division of English football less than a year ago, but his performances in senior football over the past year are making people sit up and take notice.
United believe this too, which is why he signed a new contract that runs till 2028, one that gives him plenty of time to show that he belongs in senior football.
He’s likely to travel with the senior team for pre-season again next year, before a loan in the second division could be the ideal landing spot.
No two breakthroughs are the same, but Williams has worked hard in his senior football career for the last year to now merit “wonderkid” billing.
Not many thought United were sending out a future first-team player when Williams went to Falkirk last summer. That scenario doesn’t look as remote anymore.
Williams is a wonderkid now.
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