Jordan Williams has expressed his delight at sealing a “brilliant move” to Rochdale from Premier League giants Liverpool.
The midfield enforcer, 22, revealed on the official website of the League One club that he was thrilled at agreeing a permanent transfer that will come into effect on 1 July when his Anfield contract expires.
Williams has signed a two-year contract after deciding to snub interest from rival clubs following an intervention from Rochdale manager Keith Hill.
“I feel as though I’ve got unfinished business here,” Williams said, as quoted by the Rochdale website. “I had interest from elsewhere, but as soon as Keith Hill got on the phone to me, there was no other club that I wanted to go to.
“It’s a brilliant move for me – I know the Gaffer well and I know that he has wanted me since he found out that there could be a chance of me coming back here. I’ve overcome my injury and I’m ready to kick on now.”
OPINION
Many Liverpool fans will regard Williams’ short journey to the foothills of the south penines with a shrug and a ‘so what’. He made just a single appearance for the first team in September 2014 and has fallen way down the pecking order as the battle for places in the senior squad becomes ever more competitive. Williams might not be a loss to Liverpool, but he is a great capture for Rochdale, who finished 20th in the third tier last season to narrowly avoid relegation to the bottom professional division. Good enough to have been capped by Wales at Under-21 level, the Bangor-born player made a big impression at Rochdale while on loan in the first half of last season before his spell was cut short by a knee injury. The versatile midfielder, who is predominantly an anchorman but can also dictate the attacking play, has not made a senior appearance since last October, but is now fully fit and able to show the Lancashire club why he is a super-smart free transfer.
