Manchester United have sold academy graduate Ethan Williams to League One side Peterborough United, with the Posh confirming the transfer for what was described as a "sizeable" undisclosed fee on Thursday.
The 20-year-old winger has signed a long-term deal at London Road and will wear the number 10 shirt, which became available following Abraham Odoh's recent switch to Salford City.
Williams had been part of Manchester United's squad for their ongoing pre-season tour of Europe, lining up alongside young talents such as 15-year-old JJ Gabriel. He was among the scorers in a 5-0 thrashing of Rosenborg in Trondheim last month and also appeared in friendlies against Wrexham and Atletico Madrid, though he was left out of the squads that faced Paris Saint-Germain and Leeds once several of Michael Carrick's senior stars returned from their World Cup breaks.
A product of United's youth system, Williams joined the club from Rochdale back in 2019 and progressed through the Under-18s before establishing himself at Under-21 level. Despite his development at Carrington, he never featured in a competitive first-team fixture for the Red Devils, though he did score during last year's pre-season schedule.
The winger gained valuable experience away from Old Trafford through a series of loan spells. He spent the entirety of last season with Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership, contributing one goal and three assists across 24 appearances as the club secured a top-half finish in their return to the top flight. Prior to that, Williams enjoyed a productive stint in League Two with Cheltenham Town during the second half of the 2024/25 campaign, netting twice and setting up two further goals in 17 outings.
Speaking after his move to Peterborough was finalised, Williams explained his decision to leave Manchester United behind. "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," he told Posh+.
"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," he added. "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."
Peterborough revealed they had beaten off competition from several other clubs to secure the winger's signature. Manager Luke Williams was pleased to add the versatile attacker to his squad ahead of the new campaign.
"Ethan is a player that will give us another option in the wide areas, he is quick, direct and will be a threat and I am looking forward to working with him," Luke Williams said. "He has already got first team experience at a few clubs and joins us after being away with Manchester United on their pre-season tour, so he is fit and ready to go."
The new signing could make his Peterborough debut as early as Saturday when Luke Williams' side travel to Valley Parade to face Bradford City in their opening League One fixture of the season. The Posh have already begun their campaign with a Carabao Cup first-round victory over Bristol Rovers, and Ethan Williams will be hoping to add to that early momentum as he embarks on the next chapter of his career away from Old Trafford.
Based on reporting from standard-football.