Brandon Williams may head out out on loan in January, says Wes Brown

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Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown believes that Brandon Williams may have to head out on loan next month to secure first team football.

The 22-year-old made his first appearance in seven months in United’s 4-2 mid-World Cup friendly defeat to Cadiz on Wednesday night.

The one-time former England Under-21 international, who spent last season on loan in the Premier League with Norwich City, made it back-to-back starts under Erik ten Hag by playing the first half of United’s 1-0 defeat to fellow La Liga side Real Betis yesterday.

Brandon Williams may head out out on loan in January, says Wes Brown

United’s number 33 has played at left-back in both of our friendlies in Spain, but with Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia ahead of him in Ten Hag’s pecking order, it’s hard to see him getting minutes ahead of the international duo.

But with Diogo Dalot picking up a muscle injury in Portugal’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to Morocco and Aaron Wan-Bissaka reportedly ‘surplus to requirements’, an opportunity at right-back could beckon for Williams.

But former United full-back Brown believes that Williams will decide next month whether he’ll be better served spending the second half of the campaign out on loan.

Speaking on MUTV, Brown said: “That’s [minutes] what he needs now. Injuries are always a problem – they take time, but now it’s about getting back into it and not necessarily rushing into it, but he looked good today, he looked fit.

“But now it’s just about game time and match fitness, so hopefully he gets that and whether when the Premier League resumes it’s playing for the under-21s – he does need it [match fitness].

“You then look at where you’re at – can you get back into the first team or do you need to go and try something else again [go out on loan].”

Williams made 29 appearances for the Canaries last season, 23 of which were starts in the Premier League.