Peterborough United have confirmed the signing of Ethan Williams from Manchester United after paying a substantial fee.
Posh have been seeking new recruits this summer after a squad overhaul kicked off their transfer business, and have already begun reshaping their squad to assist Luke Williams in trying to revitalise the Cambridgeshire club.
United Recruit On Board
With their season starting in a matter of days, Posh have ramped up their deal-making, with reports suggesting that they were eyeing several deals, and club chairman Darragh MacAnthony confirmed they had reached agreements for two players.
One has since been revealed to be Manchester United academy star Ethan Williams, with the club revealing his signature for a ‘sizable undisclosed fee’.
TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook has since revealed that the price is valued at above £750,000 when taking into account performance-based additional clauses.
Having spent last season on loan in the Scottish Premiership with Falkirk, the attacker, who can play both as an attacking midfielder and on the left flank, returned to Manchester United to partake in their pre-season tours.
It is not his first stint in EFL football, having previously represented Cheltenham Town in League Two, featuring for the Robins 17 times and scoring two goals and providing as many assists.
Speaking upon his arrival at London Road, the 20-year-old said:
“The identity of this club is clear, they like to work with younger players and when I heard of the interest, it was a move that I wanted to make. I have been out on-loan at a couple of clubs, have gained a lot of experience of men’s football and felt it was the right time to leave United and sign for Peterborough.
“I have enjoyed my time at United and it’s always tough to leave a place like that, but there comes a time in your career where you have to make tough decisions to develop yourself and Peterborough is renowned for helping younger players.”
Key Deal For Posh
Having failed in recent seasons to live up to their past highs, it seems that Peterborough United are now returning to their previous model and gambling on young talents to prove themselves in League One.
Ethan Williams is no different, and with little chance to play for Manchester United beyond this pre-season, moving on is the best course of action, and will head to a club that needs new attacking options.
Following Matthew Garbett’s injury and the sale of Kyrell Lisbie to Millwall, Luke Williams is severely lacking in creative players, so adding the 20-year-old to his plans should resolve that worry to some extent.
While he is yet to truly impress in his senior loan spells at Cheltenham and Falkirk, the former United youngster will be in the perfect environment to prove his worth and provide Harry Leonard and others to improve Peterborough’s fortunes.
