Athletic Club look to sign former La Masia talent to potentially replace €70m Barcelona target

This summer will be a chance for every club to invest in their squad, including FC Barcelona. For La Blaugrana, ensuring the construction of a competitive team is absolutely vital ahead of the new season. As a result, Barcelona are already working on some key operations.

One of those likely operations will be that of 22-year-old Athletic Club star Nico Williams. A hero for Spain in their European Championship-winning campaign, Williams has managed to excite Barcelona with his talent and his progress over the course of the last season.

However, this interest from Barcelona has been nothing but worrying for the player’s current club. Athletic Club remain in a state of frustration due to these developments between Barça and Nico Williams, a kind that even includes massive guarantees, but they seem to have found a solution for themselves as well.

According to SPORT, the Basque club have now found the player who could act as a potential replacement for the Barça-linked forward. Hailing from La Masia and currently a player for Real Sociedad, 22-year-old Robert Navarro is the player that Athletic Club seem to want.

Furthermore, the report suggests that the player’s arrival as a free agent in 2025 is on the right track. With the Basque side not having to pay a single cent for his arrival in terms of a transfer fee, he is seen as a viable option to take into account for next season.

This would likely help Barcelona, as it makes their job a little bit easier. With things progressing well in terms of personal contacts, it is not expected to take much longer for Barça to sort out the final details for the ongoing transfer saga.