Newcastle United have reportedly ended their pursuit of Manchester United defender Brandon Williams.

The Magpies had recently expressed an interest in signing Williams on loan and there had been contact between manager Steve Bruce and assistant Michael Carrick.

However, according to The Northern Echo, a deal appears unlikely with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer willing to hand more playing time to Williams during the backend of the season.

Hence, the Tyneside outfit are expected to look elsewhere to bolster their defence. They were recently linked with a loan move for Chelsea's Fikayo Tomori, but that has also failed to materialise.

Tomori is currently the fifth-choice centre-back in the Blues ranks behind Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger and he is free to leave on loan.

Leeds United are regarded as the favourites to sign him. The west Yorkshire outfit are looking to fill the void left by Robin Koch, who is out for the long-term following a knee surgery.