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Sam Stejskal of The Athletic is reporting that Atlanta United have acquired forward JJ Williams.
Sources: Atlanta has acquired in former Columbus forward JJ Williams. 2019 first-round draft pick was waived by the Crew last month, then picked up by USL's Birmingham Legion.
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) March 5, 2020
Atlanta will add more up top to replace Josef. Williams will not be the only signing at striker.
The acquisition has been confirmed by the Birmingham Legion.
The 22-year-old 6’3” JJ Williams is a Montgomery, Alabama native but played youth soccer at Vestavia Hills Soccer Club in Birmingham. Drafted by the Columbus Crew with the 18th pick of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft after playing 3 years with the Kentucky Wildcats, he played 7 games for the Crew last season before going out on loan to the USL Championship’s Birmingham Legion. He scored 7 goals in 21 appearances with the Legion, including the late winner in their first round playoff game. He was waived by the Crew earlier this year, but is on a Generation Adidas contract. That means he remained under contract with the league, but was quickly taken back by the Legion on loan, signing with them on February 27th. His only appearance with them this season was a preseason game against Antigua FC in Guatemala, in which he scored on a long distance rocket free kick. At least one USL pundit picked him as the potential league Golden Boot winner this season.
Importantly, MLS’ arcane roster rules mean that since he is still on his Generation Adidas contract, he will be on the Supplemental Roster and will not impact United’s senior roster budget.