Barcelona sporting director Deco has revealed that Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams gave no indication that he wanted to join the Blaugrana last summer.
The Spain international was one of the hottest properties on the attacking market in 2024 after helping La Roja win the European Championships, but he ultimately elected to remain in Bilbao.
Williams has been unable to hit the heights of last term, but he has still contributed a respectable 11 goals and seven assists in 44 games for Athletic, who are fourth in the La Liga table and will play in next season’s Champions League.
However, whether Williams sticks around to feature in Europe’s top competition for Ernesto Valverde‘s side is another question entirely, as the 22-year-old is expected to be courted by several top clubs again this summer.
Barcelona appeared to be one of the leading contenders to prise Williams away from San Mames last year, but they instead struck a deal for Dani Olmo, who has coincidentally also come up with 11 goals and seven assists this season.
‘Williams did now show confidence in Barcelona project’
As quoted by Fabrizio Romano, Deco recently claimed that Olmo made his intention to rejoin Barcelona clear and showed faith in the club’s project, which is more than can be said for Williams.
“Nico is a top player… but last summer Dani Olmo really wanted to come to Barcelona, showed confidence in the project and so made it easier for us. Nico did not do that,” Deco said.
While Williams opted to stay put last summer, the attacker will enter the final two years of his Athletic contract in July, and his terms are believed to include an affordable £48m release clause.
The 22-year-old joined the Athletic youth setup from Osasuna in 2013 and has risen through the ranks to make 166 appearances for the club in all competitions, contributing 31 goals and 30 assists in that time.
Who wants Williams?
In spite of Deco’s comments, Barcelona are still expected to be open to signing Williams if the opportunity presents itself, and his arrival would not break the Camp Nou bank either.
However, it has been reported in recent days that Real Madrid have entered the race to sign the Euro 2024 winner, who could arrive in the Spanish capital as a replacement for Rodrygo.
The latter’s future is the subject of increasing speculation, as it has been claimed that Arsenal are now seriously exploring whether a transfer for the Brazilian will be feasible this summer.
The Gunners are also said to have been one of the leading contenders for Williams’s signature, but they will almost certainly not bring in the Spaniard and Rodrygo in the same window.
The Brazilian would also burn a bigger hole in Arsenal’s pocket than Williams, but the Gunners have been told to pay over the odds for Rodrygo if there is a decent chance that they could strike a marquee deal.
