The atmosphere is finally a bit positive at Manchester United, and the same can be said for one of their loanees who has made his mark on his first start for his new club with a match-winning performance.
With no European football and elimination from the Carabao Cup, the youngsters at Man Utd faced a tough season for their first-team prospects.
Loans for their development were the best scenario, which was a test of Jonny Evans, taking on the role of a Loan Manager for the first time.
He would be smiling at the impact one youngster is having at his loan club after he already caught Ruben Amorim’s eye in pre-season this year.
Ethan Williams shines on debut Falkirk start
The pre-season optimism surrounding the Man Utd youngsters hasn’t translated to competitive football because Ruben Amorim hasn’t been backing the youth much in the early stages.
That optimism was personified by Ethan Williams, who made a big impact with his goal against Bournemouth in the 4-1 win.
That was United’s best performance of the pre-season, and Williams scoring a nice finish a minute after coming on caught Amorim’s eye.
He joined Scottish side Falkirk on loan for the season to build on his exploits after United signed ready-made impact players like Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha for the attacking spots.
Williams has now made a big impact at Falkirk as well, marking his first start for the club with two assists in a 2-2 draw against Hibernian.
Williams played 87 minutes, created three chances, had two shots, and assisted both of Falkirk’s goals in a brilliant attacking display. (Stats courtesy FotMob)
The only blot for him was the foul he committed leading to a penalty for Hibernian, but it says a lot about his mentality that he came back and assisted twice after fouling in the 30th minute.
Williams has a future at Man Utd
The performance will help Williams, but the club already rates him highly, as evidenced by a contract extension he signed before departing on loan.
His new terms go till 2028, with the option to extend for a further year. This gives him plenty of time to impress the people at Old Trafford.
That can happen at the club, or with loan spells like these, where he can eventually climb up the ladder of competition to make himself undeniable at United.
Falkirk is already a good step up from his Cheltenham loan last season, where he impressed everyone, so the next step could be in the Championship or League One.
That is the long-term picture, though. For now, he needs to concentrate on maximising his time at Falkirk and retain the momentum of a hot start.
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