LA Galaxy sign forward Augustine Williams

The LA Galaxy announced on Friday they have signed forward Augustine Williams on a one-year contract with options in 2022 and 2023.

The 23-year-old moves up after a breakthrough season in 2020 with LA Galaxy II, where he was the team’s player of the season and finished second in the USL Championship with 13 goals scored on the season.

“Augustine is a productive and talented forward who has shown his quality with LA Galaxy II,” said LA Galaxy General Manager Dennis te Kloese in a team statement. “He is a player that we have seen excel at the USL Championship level and we believe will continue to develop on the field. He will provide good depth to our attack and we are pleased to add him to our roster.”

Williams was born in Sierra Leone but grew up in Northern California and will be a domestic player on the Galaxy’s MLS roster. He originally turned pro in 2016 with Portland Timbers 2 and played for the Timbers’ first team in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup. Joining Los Dos in 2019, he had two productive seasons at UCL Championship level before making the move up to the first team.

Williams will definitely be a backup to Chicharito at MLS level, but I think he’s a savvy striker who could potentially blossom at MLS level. At the very least, I expect he’ll get some run off the bench and if he performs, may even push for starting time considering the Galaxy are not at all deep at the forward position.

Having watched Williams closely last season, I’m thrilled to see he’ll get a chance at MLS level. Best of luck to him at first team level.

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