Barnsley forward Ryan Hedges has backed former teammate and Everton starlet Joe Williams to succeed at the club, while the midfielder has also already impressed manager Marco Silva.
Williams, 21, spent last season on loan with the Tykes and made a total of 38 appearances across all competitions, scoring on one occasion, a wonder strike against Burton Albion in the Championship.
Twitter: The next two games were as good as it got. A 4-2 win away at Burton saw Joe Williams score his first and only goal… https://t.co/WSqcNFRX9y (@FourFourTarn)
So much so did he impress that Barnsley made a £1million bid in January, which was promptly rejected out of hand by the Toffees.
Having returned to USM Finch Farm for pre-season, Williams was due to fly to Austria with the first-team instead of joining the Under-23s in Spain, but a minor thigh injury has kept him on Merseyside.
Williams is expected to be fit for the friendly tie against Blackburn Rovers latest this month, where he will look to impress Silva, who is reported by the Liverpool Echo as already very impressed with what he has seen.
Speaking to the Echo, Hedges had this to say on how he feels Williams has the potential to be a star for the Blues:
I was really impressed with Joe and how he coped with his first season in the Championship.
He looked composed, assured and was a key player for us last term before his injury.
He’s got a good range of passing and he’s definitely not afraid of a tackle! I think he can add something different to the Everton squad.
He isn’t afraid of getting stuck in and fighting for every ball.
The standout memory for him at Barnsley will definitely by that goal against Burton, he’ll never be able to do that again in a million years!
