Young County defender Jay makes switch to join Fulham

TEENAGE Newport County AFC defender Jay Williams has completed a transfer to Championship Fulham for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance.

The 16-year-old, who is the son of Merthyr manager Gavin, has been part of the NCAFC Academy set-up for three years.

Williams, above, has been involved in several first-team pre-season friendly matches recently and has also been involved in training camps with the Wales Under-16 and Under-18 squads.

After the transfer was finalised, NCAFC academy manager Jorden Gibson said: “I am delighted to see Jay move to a club like Fulham, not only is it excellent for him but also adds to the growing reputation of academy players coming through our ranks and this move demonstrates the direction in which the academy is moving towards.

“Jay has been outstanding since I joined Newport and certainly earned the right for this move.

“He works hard, has the right attitude and definitely has the potential. On behalf of everyone at NCAFC, I wish him all the best for the future.”

Fulham confirmed that Williams joins them following a successful trial during pre-season, which saw him feature above his years against Bournemouth and QPR under-23s.

“I’m over the moon to sign for such a big club like Fulham and I can’t wait to get started,” he told fulhamfc.com. “My trial went really well and now I’m getting to know the boys it’s all going nicely.

“Playing in the under-23s whilst on trial is a challenging and good environment, but I’m enjoying it.

“The boys have had a great start against Spurs and they’re all really good players, hopefully I can add a bit extra.

“Newport is a great club. They’ve done a lot for me over the last three years. My goal here is to progress into the under-23s and work towards my pro contract.”

■■ Due to an early deadline, we are unable to print a report of last night’s Gillingham v Newport match. Go to walesonline.co.uk/ football for details.