The Athletic Club winger Nico Williams is one of the targets most strongly linked with FC Barcelona in the last few months. The Catalans are looking to reinforce their left wing, and he, along with Luis Diaz and Dani Olmo, is one of the preferred candidates of the Blaugranes.
However, the economic and FFP problems of Barcelona mean signing any of these players will not be quite easy, and the club will have to bring in a significant amount of money and return to the 1:1 rule to be able to sign one of these three wingers.
Still, according to Mundo Deportivo, the Catalans are getting increasingly confident that they can sign the Spanish winger, even without having to sacrifice Raphinha or any other player.
The gap left by the incomplete deal with Libero Group is yet to be filled, and Barcelona were expected to sign a new deal with Nike at the end of last month, but this has not yet been officially announced. Still, the club is confident that there will be positive news in this regard soon.
As things stand, the Blaugrana officials are convinced that they can undertake a transfer operation for Nico and create a space of €25-30 million in their wage bill.
This amount will be enough to sign him for his release clause of €58 million, while also offering him a salary somewhat higher than what he is currently earning with Athletic Club.
But for this to be possible, the Catalans will first have to return to the 1:1 rule and amortize his signing for 6 years.
Furthermore, unlike Nico Williams, signing Luis Diaz, who is Deco’s favorite candidate, will require the Catalans to part with Raphinha. But while the Liverpool winger is his favorite, Deco also likes Nico a lot, and the Athletic Club forward is the only candidate who generates consensus across the board at the club.
Similarly, the Catalans also understand that if Nico had renewed with a €58 million release clause, it means that he is open to a move, and Barcelona will be a preferred destination, especially after Lamine Yamal has convinced him to a move to the Blaugrana side.
However, if Nico wants to earn the maximum amount of money, Barcelona will be unable to get him, especially as other clubs with significantly higher capital are also interested in him.
