Derrick Williams

Derrick Shaun Williams (born 17 January 1993) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. A product of the Aston Villa Academy, having signed as a youngster from his local side Tramore AFC in County Waterford, he also played in England for Bristol City, Blackburn Rovers and Reading. Born in Germany, he played for the Republic of Ireland internationally.

Early life Williams was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1993, to an Irish mother and an African-American father. With his father serving in the United States Army at the time, Williams moved regularly during spells in Germany and the United States. In 2000, when Williams was seven years old, the family eventually settled in Tramore, County Waterford in Ireland. It was here where he began playing football, and was later spotted playing for Tramore Athletic and Waterford. At the age of 15, he was offered a contract by Manchester United, however he decided to join Aston Villa instead in January 2009, due to their success in developing academy players into first team players.

Club career Aston Villa Following a number of injuries to Alex McLeish's first team squad in the latter stages of the 2011–12 season, the versatile defender was brought in to train with the first team on a number of occasions. His first competitive involvement with the first team saw him earn a place on the bench for the defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea, and the draw with Liverpool.

Williams made his first-team debut under Paul Lambert, as a substitute in Villa's 1–1 Premier League draw against Queens Park Rangers on 1 December 2012. He made his debut in a 2–0 away win at Gillingham in the League Cup on 6 August, a club record, and the second longest unbeaten run in the country at the time, only behind Chelsea. He was a regular in the City side that confirmed promotion to the Championship with three matches of the season still to go.

Blackburn Rovers On 26 August 2016, Williams joined Championship club Blackburn Rovers on a three-year contract. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Cardiff City where he found the equaliser in the 90th minute of the match. In his first season with the club, he managed to make 39 appearances in the league and three in the FA Cup. He was also named as the Player of the Season.

LA Galaxy On 4 March 2021, Williams moved to the United States and joined Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy after his contract with Blackburn Rovers was cancelled by mutual consent.

D.C. United On 10 November 2022, Williams was traded to D.C. United in exchange for $180,000 in General Allocation Money.

Atlanta United On 22 December 2023, Williams was selected by Atlanta United in the second stage of the MLS Re-Entry Draft. On 12 January 2024, Atlanta announced that it had signed Williams on a two-year deal with an option for a third.

Reading On 15 August 2025, Williams signed a two-year contract with Reading.

On 22 June 2026, Williams announced his retirement from football.

International career Williams was eligible to play for Germany, the United States, and the Republic of Ireland. In February 2011, he made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U19 team against Croatia U19, before going onto play in three of Ireland's four fixtures of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship later that year. On 10 September 2012, Williams made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21 team, in a 4–2 victory over Italy U21. On 28 May 2018, he made his full senior international debut for the Republic of Ireland national football team in a friendly game against France at the Stade De France.

Williams scored his first senior goal in a friendly against New Zealand on Thursday, 14 November 2019

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours Bristol City Football League One: 2014–15 Football League Trophy: 2014–15

Individual Blackburn Rovers Player of the Season: 2016–17