Rhode Island FC have sold their all-time leading scorer to Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian, with the fee setting a new club record. JJ Williams is done in the USL Championship — and Hearts have themselves a proven finisher.
The 6-foot-4 forward leaves Rhode Island with 30 goals in 77 appearances across three seasons, including 11 this year alone. That kind of output doesn't go unnoticed for long, and Edinburgh was clearly watching. The Edinburgh Evening News had already reported the deal before Tuesday's official announcement — the clubs were likely just dotting the paperwork.
What Rhode Island are actually losing
Williams isn't just a goal record. He's the player who carried Rhode Island through their 2024 playoff run — a hat-trick against Indy Eleven, two more against Louisville City FC, then the goal contributions that put them in the championship final. Rhode Island fell to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the end, but Williams was the reason they got there at all.
That's the player Hearts are getting. One with big-game experience, a physical profile that suits the Scottish Premiership's physicality, and momentum behind him. Whether he can translate that form to Edinburgh is the real question, but Hearts haven't taken a flyer here — they've bought a known quantity.
Rhode Island head coach Khano Smith called it "a major milestone to become a player in the global football marketplace within three years." Fair enough. Williams is the second marquee departure this season after Clay Holstad went on loan to FC Dallas in June. Smith is building something genuine in Providence — players are leaving because better clubs want them, not because Rhode Island want them gone.
The gap Williams leaves behind
Rhode Island currently sit seventh in the Eastern Conference table, and losing your top striker mid-season is a tangible problem regardless of record fees. The fact they put three past Monterey Bay FC without him last Saturday softens the blow slightly, but one result doesn't replace 11 goals worth of attacking output.
The next fixture is a trip to FC Tulsa on August 29, then Louisville at home on September 5. Neither is a must-win yet, but Rhode Island need to move quickly in the market if they want to stay in the playoff picture. The window is closing and the gap up front is real.
As for Hearts — their attacking odds just got considerably more interesting going into the Premiership season.
