Valour FC entered this offseason with a few gaps in the squad that they needed to fill ahead of the 2023 Canadian Premier League season. Revamping their attacking group, in particular, was a major priority — having lost William Akio midseason, Moses Dyer and Alessandro Riggi departing in the offseason, and the loans of Sean Rea and Billy Forbes coming to an end.

The club announced a step in the right direction to building that attack in December, revealing that English forward Kian Williams had signed a contract to join the club. Williams, 22, most recently played for Keflavík in the Icelandic top flight, and is a product of the Leicester City youth setup, where he worked his way up from the under-10s setup to the professional ranks with the under-23s before heading to Iceland.

A winger and number ten, Williams’ next destination is Winnipeg. Speaking to CanPL.ca, his excitement about the move couldn’t be more clear, and the feeling from the club and head coach Phillip Dos Santos is mutual.

“After speaking with Phil, he’s got a lot of trust in me and I feel like it could be a good fit,” Williams said. “The discussions were really positive, he’d been watching me I think for a while now. We had a zoom call which was good, he told me a lot about the club, and a lot about the league. I’ve known about it for a while.

“I was with Burton Albion, they play League One in England, I was training there and stuff. [Phil] was keen to get me on and he didn’t stop trying to get me in, which as a player is nice, you know what I mean? He wants me to have what he seems like a key role in the team which as a player — that’s what you want to hear.”

Williams picked up 13 goals in 64 appearances for Keflavík, adding seven assists as well in three years with the club. He told CanPL.ca that he’s looking to now take the next step in his career, and took this opportunity with Valour FC to do so.

“There’s a lot of good memories, I was there for three years so I’ve made some good friends,” Williams said of his time in Iceland. “I want to carry on progressing in my career. Towards the end of the season this year, I was shooting a lot more. At the start of the season, I was always looking for the pass and I think this season I want to try to get a lot of shots in games, not being greedy, but when I can shoot rather than always looking for the pass.”

He believes that his abilities to be quick, direct, and versatile will serve him well in Canada, adding that his favourite position is either left wing or number 10, but that he’s also played on the right. “I’d say I’m quite versatile because I’ve got good pace and good feet, so I like to think I can play most attacking roles,” he said.

Williams was also attracted to the Canadian Premier League by a perhaps unlikely source, but someone who is proof that the league and its ability to be a pathway for young international players is a viable one — 2022 CPL Player of the Year, and Players’ Player of the Year, Ollie Bassett.

Like Williams, Bassett is from the Midlands of England, coming through the Aston Villa youth setup a couple of years ahead of Williams at nearby Leicester City. Bassett doesn’t think they ever crossed paths while in the youth setups, but with Williams in Iceland and himself in Canada, their offseasons aligned over the past few years. As a result, they have become friends, and sometimes train together as well.

“Four or five years now, we’ve always been in our offseason at similar times and we’ve always trained together when we’ve been looking to get ready for the new season,” Bassett told CanPL.ca. “That’s how I know him, he’s from a similar area to me, not too far — 25-30 minutes into Leicester. He’s a top guy, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to do really, really good things for Valour this year.

“He’s a left left winger, right-footed, likes to get at players and can come inside and play off the striker as a 10 as well. On the ball, he’s very comfortable taking the ball in tight areas, and I think anytime we can get someone one-on-one, he’ll back himself to go at them and make something happen.”

Wet one today with the wizard @OllieBassett28 ☔️ ?‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/9YfrQWO4FK

— Kian Williams (@kpjwilliams7) December 23, 2022

Two people from the same region of one country playing each other in a match thousands of kilometres away in another continent is an interesting thing to think about, especially when they’ve been friends for years prior. That’s exactly what will happen this season, however, whenever Bassett’s Atletico Ottawa side meets Williams’ Valour.

While that first meeting is still months away, lighthearted debate about who will emerge victorious is already in midseason form.

“We’re training here and there, so we’ve been having some banter back and forth about who’s going to win and stuff like that when we play them. That’s going to be interesting to play against him, and play against one of my friends from back home. I think it’d be nice to see him, and I’m looking forward to seeing how well he does in 2023.

“I think it’s a good move, I have full belief he will be able to come here and do really well for Valour, and who knows what can happen after that. We’ve seen a lot of players in the CPL openly talk about how they want to move up and play at a higher level, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Kian can achieve that, because I think he has all the ability to go as high as he wants.”

Williams does have the lofty goal of one day representing the team he grew up supporting again, but this time with The Foxes in the Premier League. He looks back fondly on being around the club when they won the Premier League against the odds in 2015-16, and says that being in a top professional environment like that positively affected his career path.

“The way that they carry themselves, you look at little things that they do before and after games, and it’s inspiring as well,” Williams said. “I was there when they won the Premier League, that year was so good, it inspired me a lot and just walking around in the training ground, I was loving it.

“You feel like it’s not too far away to get to that level, being in the same room. It’s still my aim, I’d love to be back at Leicester and in the Premier League and stuff — it’s a long way to go but you never know in football.”

The CPL doesn’t hide the fact that it’s a developmental league, especially for Canadians of course, but international players like former Pacific FC striker Alejandro Diaz have come to the league, thrived, and moved onto bigger and better things.

Bassett himself was recently given an opportunity to prove himself at a higher level as well, as it was announced he’ll go on trial with Liga MX side Atlético San Luis alongside a fellow Atlético Ottawa standout, goalkeeper Nathan Ingham.

“After speaking to Ollie, he’s always going on about how much the league is progressing every year, and I’ve been seeing [transfer rumours involving CPL players] on Twitter,” said Williams. “I’ve also seen there’s a centre-back for Ollie’s team (Diego Espejo) going on trial with Inter Miami, and stuff like that. There’s a lot of eyes on the league, and that’s a big reason why I chose to come to Valour.”

He knows he has to take it one step at a time, however. Bigger and better things are great things to aim for, but first, you have to prove you are deserving of that opportunity.

Williams seems to be immersing himself in the history of the league and club, and even gave Sean Rea a shoutout when speaking about the league gaining a reputation for a lot of great goals being scored — with former Valour loanee Rea catching eyes every single week with his impressive performances and highlight reel goals.

Rea’s boots are big ones to fill, but Williams is ambitious and wants to bring both himself and the team to new heights.

“Personally I want to try and make my mark on the league and get as many goals and assists to help the team as I can,” he said.

“Collectively I’d say playoffs is something which Valour has been missing the past few years, and I think that is something which is definitely achievable. [I’ll be] working with Phil and the rest of the players and staff to try reach that goal, get playoffs and then see how it goes.”