Jonny Williams has failed to make an impact at Sunderland since moving to the Championship on loan from Premier League Crystal Palace last summer.
Big things were expected of Jonny Williams when he joined Sunderland on loan from Crystal Palace last summer.
But, once again, the Welsh midfielder’s body has let him down. The injury curse struck again for Williams at the Stadium of Light, meaning he has been restricted to just 12 Championship appearances for the struggling Black Cats.
And according to The Chronicle, it looks very likely that the 24-year-old has played his last game as a Sunderland player – and it remains to be seen whether he has a future at Crystal Palace either.
Williams suffered an injury to his quad muscle in the 1-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers back in March and is now not expected to return before the end of this season.
Sunderland manager Chris Coleman might have wanted to keep the former Ipswich and Nottingham Forest loanee around at the Stadium of Light, having got the best out of this enigmatic talent during his successful spell as Wales manager. Williams shone as Wales reached the semi-finals at Euro 2016.
But the diminutive midfielder still has a contract at Crystal Palace until 2019 and, although he does not appear to have a future at Selhurst Park right now, he would probably be too costly for a cash-strapped Sunderland side who look likely to be relegated to League One.
This forgettable temporary spell on Wearside should elicit plenty of regrets for both club and player because Sunderland never really got to see the best of Williams.
And it does not do his hopes of forcing his way into Roy Hodgson’s first team plans at Crystal Palace much good either. Williams will hope to win over the former England boss in pre-season, having departed for Sunderland before Hodgson arrived to replace Frank de Boer right at the start of the season.
So much of Palace’s threat comes down the wings with Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend, so there may be room in the 70-year-old’s squad for a central creative midfielder. However, Williams will have to do what he couldn’t at Sunderland and prove his fitness.
In truth, it would be little surprise if Crystal Palace cashed in this summer.
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