Nico Williams was clearly the top priority transfer target for FC Barcelona in this summer transfer window, but events of the last few days have made his signing an almost impossible endeavor for the Catalans.
The Spanish winger, who had not given his nod to the Blaugranes at any point since they have been linked with him, returned to training with Athletic Club ahead of schedule and even appeared in a video in which he showed his excitement playing for the Basque side for the next season.
These actions could easily have been interpreted as an end of Barcelona’s pursuit of the player, but according to a report from Mundo Deportivo, the Catalans have still not ruled out his signing and are still hopeful of uniting the Spanish attacking duo of Dani Olmo and Nico Williams in their team.
However, to do that, Barcelona will have to sell one of their important players. The Brazilian winger Raphinha is being touted as a possible candidate for such a sale, and Barcelona are open to considering offers for him.
Meanwhile, the Catalans have the Liverpool winger Luis Diaz as their second option if they cannot get Nico. However, signing him will also not be easy, especially considering the weak economic conditions of the Blaugrana side.
Furthermore, despite Barcelona’s hopes, Athletic Club themselves are quite calm about the situation, and their Second Vice-President, Jon Ruigomez, recently told the media that the Basques were approaching the whole operation very calmly.
In the meantime, Nico is training with Athletic Club, and is pushing to make himself available for his side’s last friendly game in Germany against VfB Stuttgart. Even if he is not ready for this match, he is still on schedule to be ready for the start of Ernesto Valverde’s league campaign on 15th August against Getafe.
