
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 'open to reuniting with former Manchester United star' as the Besiktas boss considers handing the 24-year-old a career lifeline
After a glittering playing career at Old Trafford that saw him etch his name in club folklore, Solskjaer went on to spent nearly three years in the hot seat at Old Trafford as manager between 2018 and 2021.
In January, Solskjaer took his first managerial position since being sacked by United and led Besiktas to a fourth-place finish in the Turkish Super Lig.
And as he prepares for his first full campaign in charge of the Black Eagles, Solskjaer is said to be eyeing a former Man United player to help shore up his defence.
According to a report from The Sun, the Norwegian is open to a move for United academy graduate and former England youth international, Brandon Williams.
Williams thrived under Solskjaer's leadership at Old Trafford, and was handed his senior debut by the Champions League winner in September 2019.
The 24-year-old would go on to make 36 appearances in all competitions in what appeared to a breakout campaign for the latest Carrington graduate tipped for success in the game.
However, Williams subsequently found first team opportunities difficult to come by and was sent out on loan with spells East Anglia with both Norwich and Ipswich.
During the latter of the two, Williams fell out of favour at a promotion-chasing Tractor Boys side under then-boss Kieran McKenna as his off-field problems began to come to the fore.
In May Williams was handed a 14-month suspended jail sentence for dangerous driving.
The defender had been 'driving erratically' in his Audi A3 before hitting a Ford Fiesta and careering into the central reservation of the A34 in Cheshire at almost 100mph.
Williams admitted he had been trying to show off to a female passenger who was sitting next to him, and a witness is said to have filmed him with a balloon by his mouth.
Prosecutors said it was 'fortunate' nobody was seriously injured or killed.
Judge Lamb, sitting in the Chester Crown Court, told Williams 'there was no reason for driving in the way you did' but said there was 'strong personal mitigation' after committing the offence at a time of depression.
Williams, who had been partying shortly before the crash, was told he had been 'stupid' and earned 'too much too soon'.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
a few seconds ago
- The Guardian
Arsenal complete £64m deal to sign striker Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting
Arsenal have finally solved their striker conundrum by completing the signing of Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting Lisbon for an initial £55m. The 27-year-old Sweden international, who fired Sporting to the title last season with 39 goals and struck a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City, is understood to have signed a five-year deal at the Emirates. Gyökeres' transfer, which could end up costing as much as £64m with performance-related add-ons, takes Arsenal's close-season spending to the region of £200m. He becomes Mikel Arteta's sixth summer signing and follows defender Cristhian Mosquera (£13m), midfielder Martin Zubimendi (£60m), goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5m), midfielder Christian Norgaard (£10m) and forward Noni Madueke (£48.5m) in moving to the Emirates. Arsenal confirmed the news with a brief post on X which read: 'This is where you need to be. Viktor Gyökeres is a Gunner.' Gyökeres will be expected to meet up with his new colleagues in Arsenal's ongoing pre-season tour of Singapore and Hong Kong. The Gunners face Newcastle in the Singapore National Stadium on Sunday before the concluding game of their tour, against Tottenham in Hong Kong on 31 July. Gyökeres moved to Brighton from Swedish side Brommapojkarna in January 2018, but spent time on loan at St Pauli and then Swansea and Coventry, before making a permanent move to the Sky Blues in July 2021. After Coventry were beaten on penalties by Luton in the 2023 Championship playoff final at Wembley, Gyökeres completed a £20.5m switch to Sporting. He scored a remarkable 97 goals in 102 matches for the Portuguese side. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Arsenal spent the concluding months of last season without a recognised striker following long-term injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz. Even before then, Arsenal were in desperate need of a reliable scorer, and Arteta will hope his new signing can fire him to his first silverware since he won the FA Cup in 2020, and end the club's two-decade wait for a Premier League title. Arsenal's new sporting director, Andrea Berta, has wasted little time in strengthening a squad which has finished runners-up in the league for the past three seasons. Gabriel and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also put pen to paper on new contracts in the off-season, with a long-term extension for teenager Ethan Nwaneri believed to be all-but completed.


BBC News
a few seconds ago
- BBC News
Arsenal sign Gyokeres from Sporting for £63m
Arsenal have completed the signing of Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres from Portuguese club Sporting for 73m euros (£63m).The 27-year-old has signed a five-year deal with the Gunners after the move was held up because of negotiations between the clubs over add-on final sum is made up of a 63m euro transfer fee plus 10m euros in move takes Arsenal's summer spending up to about £204m, following the arrivals of Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke and Cristhian Sport revealed at the start of the month how Mikel Arteta's side had turned their attentions to Gyokeres after hitting an impasse in their bid to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB sporting director Andrea Berta flew to Lisbon to lead negotiations with the Portuguese deal concludes the long-running saga over Gyokeres' future, after he was linked with Manchester United earlier this failed to report back at Sporting for pre-season earlier this month, and the club's president Frederico Varandas said the player would face disciplinary action. More to follow.


BBC News
a few seconds ago
- BBC News
Wissa threatens not to play for Brentford
Yoane Wissa has held crunch talks with Brentford director of football Phil Giles, during which he threatened not to play for them again if he is not allowed to move to Newcastle, a source has told BBC forward Wissa is the subject of major interest from the Magpies, who have already had one offer turned down for the flew back from the club's pre-season training camp in Portugal earlier this week for talks with Giles, as he made clear his intention to move to St James' are yet to sanction his transfer to the north-east, which, sources claim, has annoyed close to the situation claim Wissa believes Brentford are reneging on an agreement to let him leave the club should a sufficient offer be Sport has been told Wissa is so infuriated that he is threatening not to play for the club again if they fail to permit his move to is understood Giles has held further talks with Newcastle's acting sporting director Andy Howe over the past 24 hours - but a deal is still to be protracted transfer is still possible, according to sources close to the matter.