Nico Williams is aware that Barça’s interest in him has cooled off. Still, he remains firm in his desire to leave Athletic next summer to go to Barça or another ambitious team.
Félix Tainta, Nico Williams’s agent, has sensed it. The passion that Barça’s executives showed last summer for signing his client no longer exists.
Nico Williams’s Signing is No Longer Essential
Two specific events are to blame. On the one hand, the rise of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha at Barça, the two players who play in the Athletic forward’s position.
On the other hand, the poor performance Nico Williams is showing at Athletic. His contribution in numbers is far from the stats of Barça’s two forwards.
Nico Williams has played 15 matches in LaLiga, with 1 goal and 3 assists.
Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal has 5 goals and 9 assists in LaLiga. Raphinha is at 11 goals and 6 assists.
Lamine, 4 more goals; Raphinha,10 more goals. Lamine, 6 more assists; Raphinha, 3 more assists.
The Market Offers Cheaper Options
Sporting performance isn’t the only reason Barça’s interest in Nico Williams has cooled, however. The market offers other cheaper possibilities and, probably, more profitable ones.
That’s the case with Atalanta’s Nigerian Ademola Lookman, who put on a show against Real Madrid yesterday. He offers more goals and assists than the Basque and is much cheaper, both in transfer fee and salary.
On the other hand, Flick believes that Dani Olmo’s arrival somehow makes Nico Williams’s signing unnecessary.
The message has reached the Athletic player, who sees the Barça option as almost impossible. He’s instructed his agent to scour the market for a powerful and ambitious team.
Surprise at Barça with Nico Williams
In fact, the player has remained firm refusing to renew with Athletic to keep his release clause at 60 million.
That’s what the agent has done. Several clubs have received information about the possibility of adding Nico Williams to their teams next summer market.
Among them, there’s Real Madrid, which has received the offer with surprise and considered it fondly. As of today, however, Ancelotti’s problem is offloading all the forwards and he doesn’t need more players to complicate things.
At Barça, they’ve been affected by Nico Williams’s reaction. “We didn’t expect it”, but they understand that the player needs to make a move if he doesn’t see any chances of landing at Camp Nou.
