Manchester United have launched discreet enquiries into Neco Williams as they weigh up options at left-back heading into the summer. Nottingham Forest have already opened talks with the Wales international and his camp over a new and improved contract.
Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Everton are all understood to have made discreet enquiries to understand Williams’ situation heading into the summer, with Forest intent on keeping him. The 25-year-old has three years left on his current deal and the club plan to offer better terms to deter interest from elsewhere.
The interest is built on a season in which Williams has played almost exclusively on the left despite being right-footed, and has also worn Forest’s captain’s armband on occasion. For United, the appeal is straightforward: they want competition now and potentially a long-term replacement for Luke Shaw, who turns 31 in July.
Williams’ rise has taken him a long way from the 15 years he spent on the books at Liverpool before Forest signed him for £17m in 2022. He has since become a regular presence for Forest and a 55-cap Wales international, while the club view him as a crucial figure in both domestic and European competition.
That creates the tension in this deal. United are preparing to open club-to-club talks with Forest over Elliot Anderson, yet their interest in Williams shows they are already probing more than one avenue as they look to strengthen. Forest, meanwhile, have every reason to hold firm: they have a player they trust, he is under contract, and they are now trying to make sure the summer does not unsettle him.
The next move belongs to Forest. If they can turn their talks into a new agreement, they will make life much harder for the clubs circling around Williams. If they cannot, one of the more adaptable full-backs in the Premier League could become one of the summer’s more active transfer stories.
