Brandon Williams has revealed his love of defending has been a huge factor in his success in the Manchester United first team.
The 19-year-old has surpassed expectations at Old Trafford this season, breaking into the senior set-up at Uniited under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
It has been quite an emergence, since Williams didn't travel on the first team's pre-season tour last summer, yet he has capitalised on his opportunities and has made 25 appearances in all competitions and scored his first United goal.
He has explained in conversation with the club's official website that his love for one-on-one defending - and ability not to be overawed by the calibre of his opponents - has helped him settle into the first team.
“When you get the team sheet, you know what this player can do,” Williams said. “You could be playing against [Adama] Traore one week; you know what he's going to do and where he's going.
“Then the next week you're playing against Riyad Mahrez and you know he's coming inside or he wants to chop back.
“To succeed, I think you always need to love defending and love the job of defending. Don't get too overwhelmed by all the attackers and the flair stuff. Just do your job, work hard and try to improve in every area, as much as possible.
“It's all about concentration. If you're making a last-ditch tackle it means you didn't do something right 30 seconds before. If you've got the concentration and you're solid, then it's difficult for teams to get past you, as we're showing now with the number of clean sheets going up."
Williams will look to renew his rivalry with Luke Shaw for the left-back position in Solskjaer's team when football resumes, amid discussions between officials about restarting the Premier League in June.