Jonny Williams discusses summer transfer decision – and why he was “sad” at Charlton Athletic exit
Jonny Williams says his happiness at Charlton was far more important than chasing a little extra money elsewhere when he assessed his options this summer.
The Welsh international was a free agent at the end of June but opted to re-sign for the Addicks.
Williams admits he could have bided his time and allowed more options to open up. He said: “I’d only been away from Charlton for two or three days and even by then I started missing being there.
“I spoke with Steve Gallen [head of recruitment], my agent and my family. I felt I was silly to walk away at this moment in my career from a club I was happy with.
“Had I waited that long would it have made a massive difference in my life? It might have been financially better or it might not have been. Whatever – I was happy staying at Charlton.
“I’m happy playing my football here, happy with the fans and happy being at home – I’m just happy in general.
“It was a fantastic first six months. My aim was to get promotion to the Championship and that was completed in the best way possible – I couldn’t ask for anything better.
“It was just a shame to hear they weren’t going to offer me a contract – they thought it wasn’t possible with the finances and stuff. I walked away a bit sad. But I felt like it wasn’t fully finished – there was hope.
“I got a phonecall from the manager asking would I like to come and stay fit with them. Don’t get me wrong, if other options were completely life-changing then I don’t think my people would’ve turned that down. But I had it in my head that what someone would offer in the Championship wasn’t really going to change what I felt for Charlton.
“The club have signed some very good players and it all worked our perfectly in the end. We’ve had a fantastic start and it’s made my decision to stay even better.
“We can’t get carried away. It’s still our aim to stay in the division.
“We’ll get better as the new players start to gel and understand what the manager wants.”
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