New Hearts No 9 JJ Williams has admitted he has been struggling to sleep since agreeing his move to the club, and is now embarking on a crash course in Jambos history after arriving from the United States.
The American striker joins the Edinburgh club on a two-year deal from Rhode Island FC for an undisclosed fee. Belgian head coach Wouter Vrancken had been searching for a focal point for his new-look Hearts attack, and the 6ft 4in front man fitted the bill after scoring highly with analytics firm Jamestown Analytics.
Agreement for Faroese teenager
A deal to land teenage Faroese winger Aron Benjaminsen from Vikingur/Grota has also been agreed, with both clubs still sorting out paperwork before the 18-year-old heads to Edinburgh.
Williams is the latest addition for now, and he says it has been a long time coming ahead of a potential Premiership debut against St Johnstone on Saturday.
Dream come true
“It’s a dream come true for me, honestly,” he said. “I was hoping that this deal would have been done a long time ago, but the fact that I’m here, I’m getting immersed in the culture, I’m getting to experience a lot of the history that’s Hearts. There’s no place I’d rather be. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the only club that I’m worried about and thinking about.”
He added: “I just want to take that big step. For so many years, I’ve been looking to get out of the States and it’s just how everything happened for me to do it now. So I’m beyond blessed and happy to be here.”
Williams arrives from the American second tier with Rhode Island but revealed he has had the inside track on Scottish football already.
Struggling to sleep
“One of my top mates is from here,” he explained. “He grew up in the academy so I know a little bit about it. I’m actually going to go to the museum after this and go check it out. What I do realise is that you’re playing for more than just a game, what it means to people and that’s what I can’t wait to play for. These are the people that I can’t wait to play for.”
“I’m going to struggle to sleep tonight. Whenever I got in, I’ve been struggling to sleep because I’ve been thinking of scoring goals in front of the fans for the last five or six days since I knew it was going to happen. I’m going to take pictures of it (the stadium) and just dream about this tonight.”
