Nico Williams, a target for Barcelona and Liverpool, will prioritise signing a new contract with his current team, Athletic Club.
According to Spanish journalist Albert Fernandez on Twitch, Nico Williams will prioritise signing a new contract with Athletic Club. The Spanish international, whose release clause is €50 million, is in the final year of his current deal. Meanwhile, the young winger is a target for Barcelona and Liverpool.
Nico Williams has established himself as one of the best young attacking prospects in the world in the last few years. The 21-year-old, the younger brother of Inaki Williams, has been with Athletic Club since 2013, when he arrived from Osasuna. He rapidly rose through the ranks at the Basque outfit before making his first-team debut as a 17-year-old in April 2020.
Williams has also made his debut for the Spanish national side and will likely be a core member of the senior squad in the next few years. Meanwhile, he has started the 2023/24 season well, providing four assists in four outings thus far. But the Basque giants are in a spot of bother over the player’s long-term future, as he has entered the final year of his contract.
Such a situation has captured the attention of several high-profile clubs. Recent reports have linked the player with Barcelona and Liverpool, among others. But they have been wary of Athletic Club’s eagerness to tie him to a new long-term contract. The update by Albert Fernandez now hands a blow to Barcelona and Liverpool.
Williams, whose current contract has a release clause worth €50 million, is ready to commit his future to Athletic Club. The report claims that the Spanish international is prioritising signing a new deal at San Mames. And the agreement will likely hike his exit clause from €50 million to a much higher sum.
Barcelona and Liverpool recently contacted Williams’s entourage over the possibility of a move next year. The 21-year-old could have been a top-notch addition to the Barcelona attacker amid uncertainties surrounding Ferran Torres’s future. Meanwhile, with widespread reports linking Mohamed Salah with a move to Saudi Arabia, the Athletic Club attacker is a viable target.
But Liverpool and Barcelona will face an uphill task prising Williams away from Athletic Club, with a new contract on the horizon. It will be interesting to see if any suitor can convince the Spanish international to leave the Basque outfit next year.
