Athletic Club have won the day – Barcelona are finally giving in on Nico Williams. The 22-year-old Basque winger will remain in Bilbao for the coming season.
Barcelona have been moving to sign Williams since late June, and intensified speculation over Williams’ future over the last month. However his agent Felix Tainta has not been responding to Barcleona’s calls of late, say Onze, and his silence on their offer has been regarded as a no.
President Joan Laporta, who was the driving force of the pursuit, and tried to get involved himself last week, has finally accepted that Williams is no longer possible. Despite having a €58m release clause, they could not persuade him to accept their offer.
The news will come as a major blow for the Blaugrana who miss out on their top target for the summer, although they have signed Dani Olmo from Leipzig for a fee of €55-62m. Given Olmo has joined, Williams’ answer may be a blessing in disguise, as Hansi Flick alreaddy has the three positions in behind the striker well stocked, and Williams arrival would have meant benching at least three important players every game.
Barcelona have supposedly outlined alternatives out to Williams, but it seems much more likely they go for a stop-gap solution if anyone, rather than a major signing.