Wanderers are delighted to announce exciting wideman Randell Williams as their first new signing of the January transfer window.
Williams joins the Whites from Championship side Hull City for an undisclosed fee after agreeing a two-and-a-half-year deal at the University of Bolton Stadium.
The 26-year-old will greatly enhance Wanderers’ squad as a versatile wide player capable of playing as a wing-back or in a more advanced role to increase the Whites’ attacking options.
Naturally left-sided, but able to play on either flank, Williams will also bring added pace and dribbling ability to the Whites’ set-up and arrives with a top-class pedigree.
Starting out with Premier League sides Crystal Palace and Watford, the Londoner got his first taste of first-team football during a loan spell with Wycombe Wanderers in 2018.
After helping the Chairboys win promotion from League Two, he returned for a second loan spell at Adams Park in the first half of the 2018/19 season before joining Exeter City on a permanent deal in January, 2019.
A big hit at St James’ Park, Williams was Exeter’s Player of the Year in 2019/20 and also scored the Grecians’ goal-of-the-season as the club reached the League Two play-off final.
He was again a key man in 2020/21 as Exeter just missed out on a play-off place, scoring one of City’s goals in a 2-1 win at Wanderers in May, 2021 as the Whites’ promotion celebrations were briefly put on ice.
Firmly on the radar of Wanderers’ manager Ian Evatt, Williams’ form attracted the attention of numerous other clubs and secured him a move to the Championship with Hull in July, 2021.
Williams made 22 appearances for the Tigers, returning to feature at the start of this season after a knee injury curtailed his first year at the MKM Stadium.
As a long-standing target for Evatt, the Whites’ patience has now paid off with Williams making the move to the UniBol at an ideal time as Wanderers head into the second half of the season in League One’s top six and the quarter-finals of the Papa Johns Trophy.
“Randell’s signing is a good start for us in this transfer window,” said Evatt, who confirmed that a second arrival via the loan market is pencilled in for early next week.
“He’s a player we have looked at for a long time and a player I admired while he was at Exeter.
“He went to the Championship, played games in the Championship but Hull have changed their policy with what they’re doing there with a change of ownership and change of manager.
“Randell has become available and we’ve beaten other teams to his signature.
“He’s a player we have admired for a long time who offers some serious blistering pace down that left-hand side and that kind of attacking prowess that Conor (Bradley) does for us on the right.
“It’s exciting and I’m excited to work with him.”
Williams will wear squad number 27 and after training with his new team-mates for the first time today, will be included the Wanderers' squad to face league leaders Plymouth Argyle at the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday.