Bengaluru FC beat Kerala Blasters to sign Ryan Williams ahead of the upcoming season
In a shocking blow to Kerala Blasters' hopes, Bengaluru FC have acquired the services of Ryan Williams ahead of the upcoming season. The two southern Indian teams went head-to-head for the player but the Blues managed to convince him to move to the Kanteerava.
The Australian midfielder joins from A-League side Perth Glory, where he spent the 2022-23 season. He bagged four goals in the 24 appearances he made for the Australian outfit last season.
Williams is of Indian origin, with his mother coming from Mumbai, although his father was born in Kent, England.
The 29-year-old is a product of the Portsmouth Academy in England and has also represented them in the top tier. Williams also spent time with London club Fulham in the past.
After moving to Barnsley and later to Rotherham United, Williams made his way back to Portsmouth in 2019, where he made 67 appearances and bagged eight goals.
Williams would move on to Oxford United in 2021, where he spent a season. However, he could not quite find his touch at the Kassam Stadium and was snapped up by Australian side Perth Glory ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Williams was a regular for Australia in age-group football
Williams has made just one appearance for the Australian senior side, coming on as a second-half substitute against South Korea in 2019. He was quite a regular in the under-20 and under-23 age-group sides. However, he has just one goal to his name in the Socceroos' colours, that too, at the under-20 level.
Bengaluru FC manager Simon Grayson will be extremely pleased with this acquisition, as Williams will help provide more direct attacks from the right-hand side of midfield.
With skipper Sunil Chhetri already operating in the wings without much hassle and new signing Curtis Main operating in the centre-forward position, Williams is expected to be the missing piece of the puzzle for the Blues in attack.
Williams' pace and skill with the ball on the wings will allow Grayson to ask his midfielders to take the offensive route whenever in possession. He has also been known to play in the wings at times and can control the ball rather well.
Bengaluru FC have landed themselves a top-quality player in Williams, who will add to their firepower, not least due to his experiences in the extremely competitive rungs of English football.