New signing Brandon Williams has revealed that his loan move to Ipswich Town has been in the pipeline since the start of the Championship season.
The club confirmed his arrival from Premier League giants Manchester United earlier this afternoon, making him their fifth signing of the summer transfer window.
League rivals Leeds United were reportedly amongst those interested in acquiring his services once it was revealed he would be allowed to depart Old Trafford, but the Blues were able to get the deal over the line.
“It feels good to be down here, I can’t wait to start,” Williams told TownTV.
“It came about a few weeks ago, they [Ipswich] got in contact with me. Having seen how my year went last year, it wasn’t how I expected and how I wanted, so I think it’s time for me to get out and play some football.
“I got asked to come up and watch the game [v Sunderland], so I thought it was a good idea to bring my family up and get a feel for what Championship football is like as well.
“It was good to get there and watch the team.”
One of the biggest priorities for Williams is regular game time, having last played a competitive fixture in December 2022. That was just five minutes off the bench in a Carabao Cup win against Burnley.
A loan spell at arch-rivals Norwich City in 2021/22 gave him more of an opportunity, but ultimately ended with him falling out of the team as the Canaries were relegated from the Premier League.
He hopes that his stint at Portman Road will be more productive, aiming to nail down a spot in the starting lineup as soon as possible.
“I’m coming here to play a lot of games and get into the team, but I know there’s going to be a lot of competition as well,” he explained. “That’s something that I have to deal with.
“I had a lot of games when I first came through and made my breakthrough [at Manchester United]. I had a couple of tough seasons, but I obviously went over to Norwich and played a few games there.
“I came back and had another year where I didn’t have enough football for me, so it’s good for me to get back out.”
Unsurprisingly, Town boss Kieran McKenna played an important part in the deal.
Williams worked under the Northern Irishman during his time at Manchester United, meaning that the pair have built up a strong working relationship.
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First-team coach Lee Grant and assistant manager Martyn Pert were also at Old Trafford at the time, so he feels confident that he can settle in at Portman Road much quicker than he may have done elsewhere.
“Kieran was my youth team coach,” Williams recalled. “He came in when I stepped into the youth team. We had a great relationship.
“When he came in, he always had the standards of a coach at the top level. We had a great group anyway and he shifted me from right to left. He had a great influence on me.
“He always kept in touch with me to make sure that I’m okay. He had a big role in that and I trust everything that he says. He’s great to learn off.
“With Granty, obviously I was in the same squad as him. We had that changing room relationship as well where we knew each other off the pitch.
“Grant is a great professional, someone great to learn off with a great knowledge of football. It was great to share the changing room with him, and I’m happy to share the changing room with him, and I’m happy that he’s gone on to do this kind of stuff.
“With Martyn, he came in when I got into the first team. He was a coach there and we got on really well, we had a good relationship.
“He was always messaging me when I went out on loan, and when he was down here he kept in contact.”
While familiarity will help Williams, playing away from his boyhood club won’t be the only challenge.
This will be his first loan spell outside of the Premier League, which he believes will give him a chance to improve different aspects of his game that he may not have been able to do if he remained in Manchester or moved elsewhere in the top flight.
“I always said that I wanted to have a challenge if I didn’t get into the Premier League side at United,” he admitted.
“I always said that I wanted to do a season in the Championship because it’s a high-level league, it’s competitive and there’s so many games to play.
“I’m just looking forward to being on the pitch, getting to know the players and learning more off Kieran.
“I’m sure Kieran has learnt a lot more over the years and he’s obviously very experienced now. He can pass that on to me and I can learn different styles of play.
“In the Premier League, at United especially, you can have the ball a lot. In the Championship, it might be intense, and obviously with all the rule changes such as the referee stuff and the added time, it’ll be enjoyable.”
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