Brandon Williams is one of five young players who have been added to the Europa League squad. The left-back has been tipped to make his breakthrough at senior level for a while but he is yet to make his United debut.

That could soon change, though, with Luke Shaw still out with a hamstring injury. Ashley Young has been covering on the left flank but there will be games where he could be needed to play on the right-hand side if Aaron Wan-Bissaka or Diogo Dalot are not available.

So who is Williams, and what can we expect of the teenager if he is given his debut by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the next few weeks?

The defender first came to prominence when he helped the Unders 18s win the Premier League North title in 2018. He was subsequently rewarded with his first professional contract last summer.

His progress has been monitored, in particular, by Kieran McKenna and Michael Carrick. McKenna was Williams’s manager during the 2017/18 campaign when the Under 18s won the title and he has been keeping close tabs on the defender.

When McKenna was promoted to first-team duties under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he is likely to have had a word in the Norwegian’s ear about the potential of the 19-year-old.

Williams was promoted to the Under 23s in July and he has begun the campaign in impressive fashion in Premier League 2. He captained the side in the 5-0 win over West Brom in early August and provided an impressive three assists during the game.

The fullback also put in a standout display against a senior side, when the Under 21s faced Rotherham in the EFL Trophy at the start of last month. He delivered a good through ball for Ethan Laird to open the scoring in the 2-0 win at the New York Stadium.

Williams is strong in one-on-one duels with opponents and is good at intercepting passes. On the ball, he does like to dribble, although his crossing could do with some improvement despite his good number of assists at youth level.

The defender is predominantly right-footed and can play on either flank, and it will be interesting to see whether Solskjaer opts to throw him in at fullback at some point.

Williams is a raw talent so it is not likely that he’ll feature prominently but there is every chance of him being handed a debut in the cups or in the Europa League.