Derrick Williams (footballer)

Early life

Williams was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1993, to an Irish mother and an American father. With his father serving in the United States Army at the time, Williams moved regularly during spells in Germany and the United States. In 2000, when Williams was seven years old, the family eventually settled in Waterford in Ireland. It was here where Williams began playing football, and was later spotted playing for Tramore AFC and Waterford. At 15, Manchester United offered him a contract, however he decided to join Aston Villa instead due to their success in developing academy players into first team players.

Aston Villa

After being spotted playing for local side AFC Tramore, Williams had trials for both Aston Villa and Manchester United, before signing for Villa in January 2009. Following a number of injuries to Alex McLeish's first team squad in the latter stages of the 2011–12 season, the versatile defender was brought in to train with the first team on a number of occasions. His first competitive involvement with the first team saw him earn a place on the bench for the defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea, and the draw with Liverpool.

Williams made his first-team debut under Paul Lambert, as a substitute in Villa's 1–1 Premier League draw against Queens Park Rangers on 1 December 2012. Williams played a part in the Aston Villa Under-19s' successful NextGen Series 2012–13 campaign.

Bristol City

After struggling to make it into the Aston Villa first team, Williams signed for Bristol City, newly relegated to League One, on a three-year contract on 24 June 2013.

Williams made his debut in a 2–0 away win at Gillingham in the League Cup on 6 August, and continued to solidify his place in the line up, starting almost every league game for City that season. His first professional goal came on 15 February 2014, in a 2–2 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers.

Bristol City started the 2014–15 League One season with a 16-game unbeaten run, a club record, and the second longest unbeaten run in the country at the time, only behind Chelsea. Williams was a key fixture in this run, starting every game. His first goal of the season came in this run, in a 3–2 home win over Chesterfield on 11 October, and his second was scored in a Football League Trophy win over Coventry City in early December. Williams was sent off for the first time in his career in a 1–0 away defeat at the hands of Crewe Alexandra, forcing him to miss the following game. After returning from his one-match ban, Williams continued to feature on the left of City's three man defence, alongside Aden Flint and Luke Ayling. Williams played in the Football League Trophy final at Wembley Stadium on 22 March 2015, a game in which City beat Walsall 2–-0, becoming the only side to have won the competition three times. He was a regular in the City side that confirmed promotion to the Championship with three games of the season still to go.

Blackburn Rovers

On 26 August 2016, Williams joined Championship club Blackburn Rovers on a three-year contract.

International career

Williams is eligible to play for Germany, the United States, and the Republic of Ireland. In February 2011, Williams made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U19 team against Croatia U19, before going onto play in three of Ireland's four fixtures of the UEFA Under-19 Championships later that year. On 10 September 2012, Williams made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21 team, in a 4–2 victory over Italy U21.

Career statistics

Honours

Bristol City