Brandon Williams providing a bright spark in a miserable Norwich season

Despite assurances from over in Norfolk in the summer that this was not the case, Norwich are continuing to use the Premier League like a revolving door.

They were promoted from the Championship in 2019. They were relegated in 2020. They were promoted again in 2021. Barring a miracle, they'll be relegated again in 2022.

Dean Smith replaced Daniel Farke in the Carrow Road dugout last month, and admittedly things have looked a little more promising for Norwich following his appointment. After a narrow - and somewhat unlucky - loss to Manchester United at the weekend, there were real signs of life for the Canaries.

Next up were Aston Villa - the club Smith was sacked by last month, the club he's supported since he was a child. The narrative was rife for the 50-year-old to come back and bite the hand that used to feed him.

And then Norwich put in one of their most pathetic performances of the season in a 2-0 loss. D'oh.

Smith's side were second best in every single department, losing every duel and with every player being squashed by their Villa counterpart. All bar one - Brandon Williams.

The youngster was recalled to the starting lineup after being ineligible to face parent club United last time out. As has so often been the case this season, Williams was up for the fight when his teammates certainly weren't.

It's hard to have a huge impact on a bad team as a right-footed left-back - particularly one who's not particularly blessed with pace - and yet time after time Williams leaves the pitch officially as a loser, yet one of the only triers and destined for bigger and better things.

That's not to say he's going to walk into the Man Utd team when he returns to Old Trafford at the end of the season, but at the very least he is a good Premier League player, one who provides a useful profile for any side in the division.

Williams wasn't even the most high-profile loan signing Norwich made this summer; Billy Gilmour - fresh from a decent Euro 2020 campaign - joined from Chelsea to much fanfare, but Tuesday's defeat to Villa summed up both of their spells at Carrow Road perfectly.

Where Gilmour was passive and didn't exactly cover himself in glory for either of Villa's goals, Williams was always up for the fight, always showed for the ball and carried himself with the bravery a player in a relegation battle should.

The United team Williams will rejoin in May could look very different to the one now, but at this rate, he's done enough to warrant a place in their squad for next season. A number of Premier League clubs will be looking to do a deal with the Red Devils if not.