Jonny’s targeting another high spot with Wales side
Jonny Williams’s career has mirrored a roller-coaster, but he is determined to enjoy another high with Wales next summer.
The midfielder was unable to stop Charlton going straight back down from the Sky Bet Championship last month, a year after he helped the Addicks into the second tier with promotion via the League One play-offs.
Williams featured in the Wembley win against old club Sunderland in May 2019 after he had spent the 2017-18 campaign on loan with the Black Cats, who went on to suffer relegation.
Fit and raring to go for the next challenge, the 26-year-old has the ultimate long-term goal this season of appearing at another European Championship with Wales.
“People say it is a roller-coaster – it is for sure,” said Williams.
“My career has been so up and down and it has been some journey.”
The initial challenge for the Welshman is to decide where he will play his football. He signed a one-year deal at Charlton last summer and can extend it by a further 12 months, but after returning to the international scene has several Championship clubs chasing his signature.
He added: “I have my option year and I am assessing all options with my agent every day to see what is best for me.
“My main aim is to put myself in the best position to get in a Wales shirt on a frequent basis because I had missed doing that when I missed a couple of years.
“To be back playing under (Ryan) Giggs last year was amazing and it is the pinnacle of every player’s career to play at the top, top level.
“I want to make sure I am in a good position to make sure I am recognised for that and wherever that will be, I guess we’ll see.
“I have loved my time at Charlton and we’ll see what happens in the near future.”
When Williams returned to the Wales set-up in September, it was the first time he had been called up by former Manchester United winger Giggs.
A cameo against Azerbaijan was his first international appearance since the Euro 2016 semi-final defeat to Portugal and he then started in a friendly against Belarus days later.
More good form for Charlton saw Williams summoned again for key qualifiers with Slovakia and Croatia in October and he was trusted from the off in both fixtures and helped his country secure consecutive 1-1 draws.
“I didn’t expect to be starting those massive games,” Williams added. “I have played in big games in a Wales shirt, and they were very important in the end to get the two draws against two top teams to qualify.
“There was a point in my career a couple of years ago where I wondered if I would ever be back in a Wales shirt, and to play under Giggs, who was an absolute legend, was a bit surreal.
“For him to show that belief to put me in the starting XI and then for me to play well gives me a bit of self-belief that I have still got. It is just about having that belief.”
Knee surgery saw Williams miss out on Wales’s crucial group fixtures against Azerbaijan and Hungary in November but he linked up with the squad to watch them secure a place at Euro 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic saw the tournament put back by 12 months.