Jonny Williams

Jonathan Peter Williams (born 9 October 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two club Gillingham. He retired from international football for Wales in 2023.

For other people with similar names, see Jonathan Williams.

Jonny Williams
Williams with Wales at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Jonathan Peter Williams[1]
Date of birth (1993-10-09) 9 October 1993
Place of birth Pembury, Kent, England
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Gillingham
Number 8
Youth career
2002–2011 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2019 Crystal Palace 55 (0)
2014–2015 → Ipswich Town (loan) 20 (2)
2015–2016 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 10 (0)
2016 → Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 13 (0)
2016 → Ipswich Town (loan) 8 (0)
2017–2018 → Sunderland (loan) 12 (1)
2019–2021 Charlton Athletic 60 (2)
2021 Cardiff City 9 (0)
2021–2023 Swindon Town 77 (15)
2023– Gillingham 11 (0)
International career‡
2007–2009 Wales U17 15 (1)
2009 Wales U19 5 (0)
2010–2013 Wales U21 8 (1)
2013–2022 Wales 33 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:10, 14 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:10, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

Williams started his career at Crystal Palace, and whilst there had loan spells at Nottingham Forest, Milton Keynes Dons, Ipswich Town and Sunderland. He signed for Charlton Athletic on a permanent deal in January 2019 before moving to Cardiff City two years later in February 2021.

Affectionately known as "Joniesta",[3] he was part of the Welsh squad that reached the semi-final stages of the 2016 European Championships.

Club career

Crystal Palace
Williams with Crystal Palace, 2012

Williams made his breakthrough into the Crystal Palace first team at the beginning of the 2011–12 season, after much hype surrounding his performances for the academy and reserve side the previous term. He made his debut on 16 August 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute at home to Coventry City.[4] One week later, Williams made his full first-team debut in the opening game of the 2011–12 League Cup, at home to Crawley Town. He played 85 minutes, making his first assist and received a standing ovation from the home crowd. He scored his first professional goal for Crystal Palace on 13 September 2011, in a match against Wigan Athletic in the League Cup.[5]

Williams suffered a broken fibula in his right leg on 15 November 2011, whilst on Under-21 international duty with Wales. After missing four months with the injury, he returned to the starting line-up on 19 March 2012 at home to Hull City, playing 71 minutes.[6] Williams made only a handful of appearances after his return from injury, with the coaching staff giving him time to rest and regain full fitness in time for the start of the next season. He ended the season having played in 18 first-team games. On 10 May, Williams signed a five-year contract to keep him at the club until 2017.

Williams played four pre-season games in preparation for the 2012–13 season having recovered from his broken leg. In the last game against Reading, he was taken off with a calf injury, forcing him to miss the first four games of the season. After he recovered from the injury he started against Preston North End in a League Cup tie,[7] and then came on as a substitute on 1 September against Sheffield Wednesday, Palace's first win of the season.[8] Williams' efforts after making a comeback from the injury were rewarded when he received Crystal Palace's Young Player of the Year award for the season.

During the 2013–14 season, Palace's first season back in the Premier League, Williams made nine league appearances, before going on loan at the start of 2014.

Williams made his only appearance of the 2015–16 Premier League season against Chelsea, coming on as a substitute for Lee Chung-yong.[9]

He signed a contract extension with Crystal Palace in June 2017, keeping him at the club until 2019.[10]

Ipswich Town (loans)

On 27 February 2014, it was confirmed by Crystal Palace chairman, Steve Parish, that Williams would be loaned to Ipswich Town initially for one month due to not being involved in the first team at Palace.[11]

Williams returned to Ipswich on loan from 29 September 2014.[12][13] Having suffered a groin injury in early November, Williams made only five appearances for Ipswich, scoring one goal, before his return to Palace at the beginning of January 2015 once the loan spell ended.[14]

On the emergency loan deadline day in March 2015, Williams re-signed for a third spell at the Suffolk side (along with Zeki Fryers) until the end of the season.[15] However, his groin injury again caused him to miss most of the loan, making just two appearances during this spell with the club.

Nottingham Forest (loan)

On 10 September 2015, Williams joined Nottingham Forest until 16 January 2016, but was recalled earlier on account of squad injuries.[16]

Milton Keynes Dons (loan)

On 22 January 2016, Williams joined Milton Keynes Dons on a 93-day emergency loan from Crystal Palace.[17]

Return to Ipswich Town (loan)

Williams rejoined Ipswich Town for a fourth loan spell on 31 August 2016, this time until the end of the 2016–17 season,[18] making eight appearances.

Sunderland (loan)

On 31 August 2017, it was announced that Williams had signed on loan for Championship club Sunderland until the end of the 2017–18 season.[19] He scored his first goal for Sunderland in a 3–3 draw with Middlesbrough on 24 February 2018.[20] While at Sunderland he was filmed and interviewed for the Documentary film Sunderland 'Til I Die, where it shows him recovering from injury, training and speaking to a sports psychologist about his confidence.

Charlton Athletic

On 4 January 2019, Williams joined Charlton Athletic on a contract until the end of the season. This ended his 17-year association with Crystal Palace.[21] He made 16 appearances for the club for the rest of the season, helping the club to achieve promotion to the Championship, defeating former loan club Sunderland in the play-off final.

Despite this he was released by Charlton at the end of the 2018–19 season.[22] However, on 18 July 2019, Williams rejoined the club on a one-year deal, with the option of an additional 12 months.[23] In October 2019 he underwent knee surgery.[24] He scored his first goal for Charlton in a 2–0 win over Portsmouth on 31 October 2020.[25]

Cardiff City

On 1 February 2021, Williams joined Cardiff City for an undisclosed fee. This reunited him with former manager Mick McCarthy.[26] Williams made his Cardiff debut as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 victory over Derby County on 2 March 2021.[27]

Swindon Town

Williams joined Swindon Town on 13 August 2021 on a free transfer signing a two-year contract.[28] He was released by Swindon at the end of the 2022–23 season.[29] This came after a season in which, Williams was the club's top scorer and also nominated for their Player of the Season award.[29] In his time with the Robins, Williams made 77 league appearances for the club, scored 15 goals and provided seven assists.[29]

Gillingham

On 14 June 2023, Williams joined Gillingham.[30]

International career
Williams (wearing No.13) watching a Welsh penalty kick against the Netherlands in 2015.

Williams qualifies for Wales as his father was born in Anglesey. He was the second youngest player to play for the Welsh under 21s, making his debut having just turned 17. Williams was called up to the senior Wales squad on 3 October 2011, by then manager Gary Speed, following injuries to three players for the matches against Switzerland and Bulgaria. On 15 November 2011, Williams suffered a broken fibula in his right leg whilst on U21 International duty with Wales.

On 29 August 2012, Williams was again called up to the Wales senior squad by manager Chris Coleman for the World Cup qualifiers against Belgium and Serbia. In January 2013, he was selected in the Wales under-21 squad for the friendly match against Iceland on 6 February 2013 and he scored in the 3–0 victory.[31] On 22 March 2013 Williams made his international debut in a 2–1 victory over Scotland when he appeared as a substitute at half time in place of Gareth Bale.[32] He made his first start for Wales four days later in a 2–1 defeat at home to Croatia.[33]

Williams scored his first goal for Wales on his 25th appearance for the national side, scoring late to seal a 1–0 win over Bulgaria in October 2020.[34]

In May 2021 he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[35] In November 2022 he was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[36]

Williams announced his international retirement in March 2023 [37]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 14 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Crystal Palace 2011–12[38] Championship 1400041—181
2012–13[39] Championship 29020103[lower-alpha 1]0350
2013–14[40] Premier League 901010—110
2014–15[41] Premier League 200020—40
2015–16[42] Premier League 10—00—10
2018–19[43] Premier League 00—10—10
Total 550309130701
Ipswich Town (loan) 2013–14[40] Championship 131———131
2014–15[41] Championship 71——0071
Total 202——00202
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2015–16[42] Championship 100———100
Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 2015–16[42] Championship 13010——140
Ipswich Town (loan) 2016–17[44] Championship 80———80
Sunderland (loan) 2017–18[45] Championship 1210010—131
Charlton Athletic 2018–19[43] League One 160——2[lower-alpha 2]0180
2019–20[46] Championship 2601000—270
2020–21[47] League One 18210101[lower-alpha 3]0212
Total 602201030662
Cardiff City 2020–21[47] Championship 90———90
Swindon Town 2021–22[48] League Two 40530002[lower-alpha 4]0455
2022–23[49] League Two 37101010003910
Total 77154010208415
Gillingham 2023–24[50] League Two 11000202[lower-alpha 5]1151
Career total 2752010014110130922
  1. Appearances in Championship play-offs
  2. Appearances in League One play-offs
  3. Appearance in EFL Trophy
  4. Appearances in League Two play-offs
  5. Appearance in EFL Trophy

International
As of match played on 1 June 2022[51]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Wales 201340
201430
201520
201670
201710
201940
202041
202160
202221
Total332

International goals
As of match played on 1 June 2022. Scores and results list Wales' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Williams goal.
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
114 October 2020Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria Bulgaria1–01–02020–21 UEFA Nations League B
21 June 2022Stadion Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland Poland1–01–22022–23 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Crystal Palace

Charlton Athletic

Individual

References
  1. "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. "Crystal Palace FC Player Profiles: Jonathan Williams". Crystal Palace F.C. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016.
  3. Williams, Daffyd. "Jonny Williams: Wales' 'Joniesta' dreams of facing Andres Iniesta". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. "Crystal Palace 2 - 1 Coventry". BBC. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  5. "Crystal Palace 2–1 Wigan". BBC. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  6. "Crystal Palace 0-0 Hull". BBC. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  7. "PNE 4 Crystal Palace 1". pnefc.net. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  8. "Report: Palace 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday". cpfc.co.uk. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  9. "Premier League: Crystal Palace v Chelsea". BBC Sport.
  10. "Williams Signs New Contract". cpfc.co.uk. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  11. "Crystal Palace supremo confirms midfielder loan to Ipswich Town". Croydonadvertiser.co.uk. Mark Ritson – Croydon Advertiser. 27 February 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  12. "Jonny Williams rejoins Ipswich Town on loan from Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  13. "Jonny Williams On Loan". cpfc.co.uk.
  14. "Seven Eagles Return From Loan Spells". Crystal Palace F.C. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  15. "BBC Sport – Jonny Williams and Zeki Fryers join Ipswich Town". BBC Sport.
  16. "Jonny Williams' loan spell at Nottingham Forest set to be ended by Crystal Palace | Nottingham Post". Archived from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  17. "Jonny Williams: MK Dons sign Crystal Palace midfielder". BBC Sport. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  18. "Jonny Williams Heads To Ipswich Town". cpfc.co.uk. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  19. "Sunderland Loan Williams From Palace". cpfc.co.uk. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  20. "Sunderland 3–3 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  21. "DONE DEAL: Jonny Williams becomes Charlton's first signing of January window". Charlton Athletic Official Site. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  22. "Charlton Athletic offer Patrick Bauer and Joe Aribo new contracts". BBC Sport. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  23. "DONE DEAL: Jonny Williams returns to The Valley". Charlton Athletic. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  24. "Jonny Williams: Charlton and Wales midfielder has knee operation". BBC Sport. 23 October 2019.
  25. "Portsmouth 0-2 Charlton". BBC. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  26. "Jonny Williams joins Cardiff City on permanent deal". Carfiff City. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  27. "Cardiff City 4-0 Derby County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  28. "FRESH FROM THE EUROS,WILLIAMS ARRIVES AT SN1". Swindon Town F.C. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  29. "Williams leaves Swindon". Swindon Town F.C. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  30. "Gills capture the signing of Jonny Williams". Gillingham F.C. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  31. "BBC Sport – Seven uncapped in Wales U21 squad to face Iceland". BBC Sport.
  32. "Jonathan Williams tipped for bright future by Chris Colman". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  33. "World Cup 2014 qualifier: Wales 1–2 Croatia". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  34. "Williams gives Wales late win in Bulgaria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  35. "Uncapped Colwill in Wales Euro 2020 squad". BBC Sport.
  36. 2022 Wales World Cup squad
  37. "'Time felt right' for Williams to quit Wales". BBC Sport.
  38. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  39. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  40. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  41. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  42. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  43. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  44. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  45. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  46. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  47. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  48. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  49. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  50. "Games played by Jonny Williams in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  51. "Jonathan Williams". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  52. Fletcher, Paul (27 May 2013). "Crystal Palace 1–0 Watford". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015.
  53. Law, James (26 May 2019). "Charlton Athletic 2–1 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  54. "Young Player of the Year: A History". Crystal Palace F.C. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  55. "McGoldrick Players' Player of the Year". TWTD. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
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