Biography
Versatile and pacy wideman Randell Williams joined Hull City on a free transfer in July 2021, having been a target for Grant McCann’s Tigers a year earlier. He missed the opening week of the 2021/22 season due to a period of COVID-19 self-isolation and made his first team debut in the Tigers first Championship home game of the season against QPR. As the season progressed Randell became a useful and effective substitute able to inject pace down the wings at the end of games, and had compiled a number of first team starts when he suffered a season-ending injury at Bournemouth in January 2022, Grant McCann’s last game in charge of the Tigers.
Williams returned to first team action at the start of the 2022/23 season when selected for a League Cup tie at Bradford City but was soon cast aside as new signings reached match fitness and Lim Rosenior took over the first team reins. Randell left the Tigers in the opening week of the January 2023 transfer window.
Randell Alphonso Williams was born in Lambeth, South London and came through the Tottenham Hotspur academy as a youngster. After not making the grade at Tottenham, Williams drifted into the non-league scene and played for Essex Senior League side Tower Hamlets. In January 2016 he was signed by Premier League side Crystal Palace after impressing manager Alan Pardew in a trial match. Williams did not break into the first team at Palace and moved on to Premier League rivals Watford in July 2017. Williams had two loan spells at Wycombe Wanderers in 2018, making his senior debut for the Chairboys in an April 2018 2-1 win over Grimsby Town and scoring his first senior goal a fortnight later, the only goal in a win at Yeovil Town. In total he scored 4 goals in 29 appearances for Wycombe.
In January 2019 he signed for Exeter City shortly after the expiry of his second loan spell at Wycombe. He was used sparingly during the rest of the 2018/19 season but broke into the Grecians’ first team in the 2019/20 season, starting regularly at wing back and wide striker as Exeter reached the League 2 play-off final only to lose heavily at Wembley to Northampton Town. An approach by Hull City to sign Williams during the 2020 close season was rebuffed and he stayed at St James’s Park for a second full season until his contract expired in June 2021, missing three months of football in the winter months due to injury. Randell made 87 appearances and scored 9 goals for Exeter in his two and a half years at the club.
In January 2023 Williams joined League One promotion contenders Bolton Wanderers, signing a two and half year contract. He scored one goal in 19 appearances during the remainder of the 2022/23 season as the Trotters reached the end of season play-offs only to lose out to Barnsley at the semi-final stage. Williams remained a first team regular as Bolton launched another push for promotion in the 2023/24 season that ended in play-off defeat at Wembley to Oxford United – Randell played in both semi-final legs as Bolton avenged their defeat to Barnsley a year earlier, he scored in the first leg against the Tykes but missed the final.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 30 December 1996, Lambeth
Hull City First Game: 14 August 2021, Queens Park Rangers H (Championship), 24 years, 227 days old
Hull City Final Game: 16 October 2022, Birmingham City H (Championship), 25 years, 290 days old
Clubs
Tottenham Hostpur, Tower Hamlets, Crystal Palace (2016-2017), Watford (2017-2019), Wycombe Wanderers (2018, loan), Wycombe Wanderers (2018-2019, loan), Exeter City (2019-2021), Hull City (2021-2023), Bolton Wanderers (2023-current)
Hull City Record
Career: 22 apps, 0 goals
Randell Williams| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 4 (9) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2022/23 | 1 (6) | 0 | - | - | 1 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - |