Southampton are continuing to be linked with a loan move for Manchester United defender Brandon Williams this month and if he were to join, it will surely prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Sam McQueen.

According to Sky Sports, Southampton are interested in signing the youngster on loan this month and he is keen to leave to get regular first-team football under his belt.

Back in 2018, Ole Gunnar-Solskjaer was full of praise for the defender's performance against AZ Alkmaar, saying:

"The performance and debut of Brandon, fantastic. You can't see any nerves, he's so brave, the courage to take the ball and go forward. Great defending, very pleased, some big, big pluses today."

If he were to sign, it could be bad news for McQueen. The Saints man unfortunately injured his cruciate ligament in 2018 and hasn't made a senior appearance since, after one of the screws in his knee became infected.

The left-back looked to be destined for a bright future with the South Coast club, having made 29 first-team appearances during his time there and he also enjoyed loan spells with Southend United and Middlesbrough.

However, the injury looks to have all but ended his hopes of making it at Southampton and with his contract set to expire at the end of the current season, it seems very unlikely that he will be offered a new contract with Ralph Hasenhuttl's side.

The Saints are perhaps low on left-back options, with just Ryan Bertrand and 20-year-old Jake Vokins currently the only options available to the Austrian manager, so McQueen may still be holding out hope that he could make a return, with a report from The Athletic suggesting a few months ago that January could be a target for when he can have a ball at his feet again.

It seems unfortunate for the left-back therefore, that Southampton are showing heavy interest in Manchester United's Williams this month, as if he were to join, it would surely prove to be the final nail in the coffin for McQueen, especially if Hasenhuttl saw enough from the 20-year-old to make his deal permanent in the summer.

Whilst the Southampton academy graduate may be something of a forgotten man amongst Saints supporters, he was included in their 25-man Premier League squad earlier this season, which suggests that the South Coast club are not desperate to see him cut adrift, despite his injury concerns.

Hopefully, if the signing of Williams does lead to McQueen leaving Southampton this summer, he can go on to have a successful career elsewhere.

And, in other news, Hasenhuttl handed devastating injury blow to 21 y/o with great potential ahead of FA Cup tie...