Barcelona key target ‘very happy’ at current club despite transfer ‘noise’, says director

Speaking to Movistar (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Athletic Club director Mikel Gonzalez insisted that Nico Williams is very happy where he is despite all the noise about a possible move to Barcelona.

The 22-year-old Nico has been at the top of Barcelona’s wishlist all summer and for a while, it even looked like the transfer could go through.

However, recent days have seen the likelihood of the UEFA Euro 2024 winner continuing at Athletic Club increase, with the player being handed the No. 10 shirt and being named on the bench for their opening game of the season vs Getafe tonight.

Nico Williams is happy

As such, Athletic Club director Mikel Gonzalez insists that Nico Williams is happy and all the noise surrounding his future is only natural due to his quality.

“Nico has a contract until 2027, he already renewed last season. He is very happy at the club, he is a great player and he has proved it at the European Championship,” said Gonzalez.

Nico Williams is happy at Athletic Club. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP via Getty Images)

“He has shown that you can achieve the maximum at Athletic and at the national team level.”

Continuing, he added: “There has been a lot of noise, which you never like when they talk about your players, but when you have players of Nico’s level, it’s normal for these things to happen.”

With still a couple of weeks left before the transfer window closes and Barcelona still not throwing in the towel, Gonzalez insisted that Athletic Club are remaining calm about the situation at this point.

Intriguingly, Barcelona will lock horns with Athletic Club next week in the second matchday of La Liga and it will be interesting to see if there are any developments in this saga before that.