Long-time Barcelona target Nico Williams has broken the silence on his future, saying he’s excited for the season ahead with Athletic Club.
One of the hot topics of this transfer window has been Nico Williams, brother of Iñaki Williams who not too long ago signed a lifetime contract with Athletic Club.
Both players have grown with the Basque club and it’s taken Nico some time to make his mark, but with perserverence comes fruition, and the youngster has been a star figure for the Basque outfit, especially last season. Add to that a strong EUROs campaign and an incredible linkup with Barcelona’s rising star Lamine Yamal, and Nico has been a heavy subject of Barcelona interest.
The 22-year-old forward from Pamplona began his youth career with Osasuna’s youth ranks, before moving across to Athletic Club in 2013. Since then, he’s climbed through the ranks before being an official first teamer in 2021. This season, Athletic Club find themselves in a respectable European spot, where they’ll be competing for Europa League for the first time since the 2017/18 season, and the Williams brothers could be at the fore.
Having spent over a decade at the club, parting ways with it would not be easy for Nico, and with his future having been in the air recently with neither Athletic Club themselves nor Barcelona knowing his decision, he broke the silence on Tuesday.
The player has been vacationing, partially with Lamine Yamal in Marbella, and made his return to the pitch on Tuesday. For one of the training sessions, he was greeted by the social media team, and had this to say in an open message to the fans:
“I’m excited to get started [after the holidays]. I’m back, I’m really excited for this season. Vamos Athletic,” the youngster says in a clip shared on the club’s official account with the caption “Welcome home, Iñaki is now in Lezama [the club’s training facilities]”.
The forward has been courted by both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, but not too long ago made the decision to, at the very least, stay in Spain, thus ruling out PSG. There has, however, been talk about Nico signing at the end of next season, though this, per reports, has been a guarantee that Barcelona simply have not been willing nor able to provide him. For the Catalans, the time is now.
Given the uncertainties of the Nico deal, they’ve turned their attention even more towards Dani Olmo, who has already agreed on a 6-year deal. All that’s left is for the clubs to agree, hence a meeting between Deco, Andy Bara and RB Leipzig taking place later today.
Nico’s current contract runs out in 2027, though rumors have mentioned a renewal until 2030 being on the cards. Should he stay with Athletic Club, it wouldn’t be far fetched to expect a renewal, given the interest he’s attracted this transfer window.
