Australian striker David Williams who signed for Mumbai City FC from ATK Mohun Bagan a couple of weeks back has decided to leave Mumbai City FC and head to Australia.
“David Williams has decided to leave Mumbai City FC and return to his native Australia for personal reasons,” a source close to the development told IFTWC.
Meanwhile in his place, the Islanders have reportedly signed 34-year-old England-born Australian defender Rostyn Griffiths from sister club Melbourne City FC, IFTWC can confirm.
About Rostyn Griffiths and his previous stints
Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Griffiths started his youth career with the Australian club ECU Joondalup before moving to England to play for Blackburn Rovers from 2003 to 2006. Although he never made a senior appearance during the time he spent at Blackburn, he joined Gretna on loan in January 2008, where he made his debut for the side against Heart of Midlothian in February.
He signed a one-year deal with Blackburn in January 2008 and was sent on loan to Accrington Stanley for the remainder of his contract. In February 2009 he was signed as an injury replacement player by A-League club Adelaide United. With the initial agreement only covering a four-week stint, there is an option to extend that to a two-year contract. However, it is a permanent deal, and not a loan.
In July 2009, it was announced that Griffiths would join the A-League club North Queensland Fury for their inaugural season. In August, he started in Fury’s first A-league match and scored the Fury’s first-ever goal in a competitive match against Sydney FC. In 2010, Griffiths signed for Central Coast Mariners and played there for two seasons before signing for Chinese Super League club Guangzhou R&F in February 2012, for a transfer fee of $1.3 million, a record sum for an Australian player at that point.
After a two-year stint with the CSL side, In January 2014 Griffiths returned to the A-League, signing with Perth Glory. After a one-year stay at the club, in July 2015 Perth Glory released Griffiths to allow him to sign a two-year deal with newly-promoted Eredivise club Roda JC. But following struggles for game-time, Griffiths left Dutch side Roda JC in April 2016 after just one season. In July 2016, Griffiths returned once again to the A-League, signing a two-year deal with Perth Glory. Later on in October 2016, he was announced as captain of the club.
In August 2017, Perth Glory announced that Griffiths would be leaving the club with immediate effect to join Uzbek League side Pakhtakor Tashkent. After playing for a season, Griffiths left Pakhtakor in May 2018, citing family reasons. In July, he signed a two-year deal with Melbourne City FC, joining the club well before the start of the 2018/19 season. He has been playing at the club for the last four seasons and has made 82 appearances for the team, the highest number of games he has played at any club.
Griffiths has played for Australia’s National U17 team and scored a brace on his debut against Tonga in 2005. While he was still playing for Blackburn, he was courted by Wales’ national teams, due to a Welsh link on his Grandfather’s side but, at that point, had not yet decided on his international allegiance.
In terms of honors, Rostyn won A-League Premiership in the 2011/2012 season with Central Coast Mariners. With Melbourne City FC he has won the A-League Premiership in the 2020–21 season and also the A-League Championship in 2021. With the Socceroos, he has won the OFC U-17 Championship in 2005. In his whole career to date, Rostyn Griffiths has played 320 official games. He has also scored 23 goals and assisted four times. Rostyn is a tall, experienced, and versatile player who can play in various positions in the midfield and defense.
About David Williams and his previous stints
Born in Brisbane, Williams played youth football at the Mitchelton and Queensland Academy of Sport from 2002 to 2005, before making his professional debut for Queensland Roar. Williams has played for several A-League clubs including Queensland Roar, North Queensland Fury, Sydney FC, Melbourne City, and Wellington Phoenix.
Williams has also played in Europe for Danish Superliga (Denmark) club Brøndby and NB I (Hungary) club Haladás. Williams has also represented the Australia National Team twice in 2008. Since coming to ISL in 2019 Williams has played for ATK FC and ATK Mohun Bagan in the ISL, and has scored 23 goals and assisted 9 times in all competitions during his entire stay in India so far. In his whole career, Williams has scored close to 90 goals in over 350 appearances.
How are things shaping up for Mumbai City FC ahead of the new season?
Mumbai City FC have already signed Scottish forward Greg Stewart and Spanish midfielder Alberto Noguera. While they have also renewed the contracts of Moroccan maestro Ahmed Jahouh and Senegalese wall Mourtada Fall till 2023. Rostyn Griffiths is set to become the fifth foreign player for the next season as the Islanders continue their search for their foreign striker.
Mumbai City FC have also announced the expansion of the duration of the loan deal for midfielder Vinit Rai from Odisha FC and has also agreed on terms with Kerala Blasters for signing left-back Sanjeev Stalin. Meanwhile, Igor Angulo, Diego Mauricio, Cassio Gabriel, Brad Inman, Mohammed Rakip, and Vikram Singh have left the club. The Islanders have also loaned out midfielder Raynier Fernandes to Odisha FC and Naorem Tondonba Singh to Neroca FC for the upcoming season.
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