La Liga club president responds to Barcelona interest in star forward

Barcelona’s admiration for Athletic Club and Spain winger Nico Williams is no hidden secret. Heading into the summer window, the Blaugrana see the 21-year-old speedster as one of their main targets for the left-wing position.

The Spaniard, for his part, has insisted that he is happy at Athletic Club, where he signed a new contract in December last year which includes a release clause worth around €60 million.

At the same time, though, it is understood that he harbours hopes of playing for Barcelona even though he has interest from other big clubs.

Athletic Club president opens up on Barcelona rumours

Now, Athletic Club president Jon Uriarte has addressed the plethora of rumours linking Nico Williams with a summer move to Barcelona.

“We are not here to talk about rumours. Nico is very happy in Bilbao and at Athletic and he has said so in many interviews. We are very happy with Nico,” said Uriarte at a recent media appearance, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

Owing to the interest that Nico is attracting from Barcelona and some other clubs, there have been rumours of Athletic Club offering him another new deal with improved wages and a higher release clause.

When asked about the same, the Athletic Club president refused to give anything away on the matter.

Nico Williams – state of play

As mentioned earlier, Nico Williams is one of the main targets for Barcelona to reinforce the left flank, along with Dani Olmo of RB Leipzig and Liverpool ace Luis Diaz.

However, a move to sign him is seen as difficult owing to his release clause that stands at €58-60 million, coupled with Athletic Club’s refusal to negotiate a lower fee or allow Barça to make the payment in instalments.

So, unless the young forward himself digs his heels in asks to move to Barcelona, a transfer this summer appears hard to pull off.