Williams: I'm in contract talks

George Williams has confirmed he is in talks with Wigan about a new contract.
George Williams is under contract until 2018George Williams is under contract until 2018
George Williams is under contract until 2018

He has attracted plenty of attention following a stunning start to the year.

And ahead of tonight’s showdown against Leeds, the England stand-off admits he would like to stay at his hometown club if they can agree a suitable deal.

The 22-year-old said: “I’m in talks with Wigan.

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“Nothing’s finalised and not much has been done, but I’ve met Kris Radlinski (rugby director) and Ian Lenagan (chairman) a couple times with my agent.

“It’s a work in progress – nothing’s finalised, we’re just in talks.

“I’m enjoying it here, it’s where I’m from and I’m in a great team, so if the deal’s right I’ll stay – but obviously I’ve got to look at what’s best for me.”

Williams is under contract until the end of 2018 but his future has been the subject of repeated and sometimes wild speculation.

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Super League rivals Warrington are thought to be keen, having been linked with him in the off-season, and a string of NRL clubs are monitoring his progress.

“NRL clubs have been in contact with my agent but I’ve not spoken to anyone, it’s not got that far,” said Williams.

“There’s interest but most lads in the team have had interest - it doesn’t mean there are any offers there.”

And he admits he has been bemused by some of the rumours on social media.

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People tell me things about myself I don’t know, it’s weird!” he smiled.

“They’ll say, ‘I know you’re going there’, and I’ll say, ‘Honestly I’m not’, and they’re like, ‘But I know’.

“I’ve read quite a bit, and people tag me in tweets and some people get carried away – I can’t do anything about that, it’s sport.”

His pressing focus is on tonight’s trip to Headingley – a venue where Wigan last tasted victory in 2012, the year before Williams broke into the senior side.

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“I love playing at Headingley. I’ve never won there, but I love the atmosphere and the fans are really good,” the academy-product said.

“They are good at home, but we’ve never managed to perform like we do at Magic and hopefully we can do that this time.

“Leeds have some great players and we’ve seen that in the last few weeks.”

Wigan suffered their first defeat of the season last week, going down 22-20 to Hull FC.

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Three players including England forward Liam Farrell are back to strengthen Shaun Wane’s side.

“We’re not down about last week,” said Williams. “It was a rubbish start but for a young team, I was impressed with how we finished.

“And the young lads like Tom Davies and Liam Marshall haven’t been involved in games where you can win in the last minute, or you can lose in the last minute.

“So, I think it’ll put them in good stead for the rest of the year.”

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Tonight’s televised clash is followed by two more mouth-water fixtures, at home to early pace-setters Castleford and then St Helens.

“The next four weeks are massive,” added Williams. “We’ve not targeted them as a block, but if we can come away with four solid wins we’ll be in a good position to push on.”