Barcelona were the favorites to sign Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao last year, but the newly crowned La Liga champions now give priority to other goals in a boost for Arsenal
Barcelona has opened the door for Arsenal to sign Nico Williams after cooling their interest in the athletic Bilbao star. Williams, 22, was praised by Barca last summer after helping Spain to win the European championship.
The winger scored the winning goal of La Roja in the final against England and a move to Barcelona was on the cards. However, a deal did not end with Barca who chose to spend their limited funds on his international teammate, Dani Olmo.
Williams, who demands £ 300.00 a week, remained connected to a number of other clubs, including Arsenal, but finally remained sitting. The 22-year-old enjoyed another impressive season in the Basque Country, scored 11 goals and offers seven assists.
Arsenal is understood as a release clause of € 58 million (£ 49 million) in his Bilbao contract and has monitored the situation of Williams and the new sports director Andrea Berta is said to have already had conversations to gauge his interest. Now there is a team less that competitions them in the race after Barcelona president Joan Laporta made clear the attitude of the LaLiga Champions.
“Nico Williams was one of the candidates last season, but we decided Olmo,” Laporta told TV3. “And other options are currently being considered.”
A part of Barca's change from Tack is due to the form of Raphinha. At the point of leaving last summer, the Brazilian this season has been excellent to help the Catalan giants win a domestic Treble.
With the 17-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal on the other flank, it is difficult to imagine that every winger in the world moves the pair. Arsenal, on the other hand, has enough money to spend, as indicated by both Mikel Arteta and co-chairman Josh Kroenke.
“We are planning to invest to find out and do better the following season,” wrote Koenke in his program notes prior to Sunday's 1-0 win against Newcastle, which secured Champions League qualifications. “We are pleased that we have our sports director, Andrea who will play an important role in this.”
Does Arsenal Nico Williams have to sign for £ 48 million? Say in the commentary part.
Arteta has also promised a 'very exciting summer', who tells Sky Sports last week: “First of all, looks at what we did. Investigate to increase the level of the team.
“Finding large margins where we can still develop our game model and our players, and then put together those plans, play the pre-season. And if we don't have enough of it, then it's about what we have to recruit now to make the difference.”
When asked about his conversations with Berta, De Gunners -Baas replied: “Since day one, when we interviewed that role. And he had it for him, it was very clear that this is what this team should go to the next level.
“And we were very aligned. And you can see – the experience he has, he has built great squadrons and the most important trophies he has won – someone with that clarity is very, very helpful.”