Barcelona are ramping up their efforts to sign Athletic Club star Nico Williams with sporting director Deco even scheduling a second round of talks with the player’s entourage to agree on contractual terms.
Hansi Flick has identified the 22-year-old Spanish winger as a priority in the transfer window and the Spanish club is moving heaven and earth to give their new head coach the ammunition he wants to spearhead the project.
Nico’s stocks have risen in the last few months due to his incredible performances for La Roja in their title-winning European Championship campaign. The left-winger, along with Barcelona star Lamine Yamal terrorized opposition defences throughout the tournament.
Barcelona’s consistent attempts to convince Nico to join Barcelona have seemingly irked the Basque club. As per SPORT, Athletic Bilbao are fed up with the Catalan club’s attempts and are convinced that the 22-year-old does not want to leave San Mames this summer.
Ernesto Valverde revealed after the friendly against Burgos that he was calm about the Nico situation and urged his player to remain calm too. Having renewed his contract until 2027, the only way the Basque club sells the player is if Barcelona trigger his €58m release clause.
The report adds that Barcelona are looking at Nico as their reply to Real Madrid signing Kylian Mbapppe. Whilst the two players cannot be compared, Joan Laporta seems keen on making a statement signing this summer.
Despite Bilbao’s resistance, if Barcelona are able to convince Nico Williams and agree on contractual terms with his agent, the decision is taken out of the Basque club’s hands. The only question remaining would be if Deco & co. can find a way to trigger his release clause this summer.
The Blaugranas have had their hand tied in recent transfer windows due to their financial situation. Often, even after signing players, registering them for La Liga has been an ordeal but the club is confident about securing Nico.
Adding the 22-year-old Euro champion to an exciting young crop at the club would give Hansi Flick the quality he needs to build his Barcelona project. Only time will tell us if we can see Nico wear a Blaugrana shirt in the upcoming season.
