4 months ago
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Chris DaviePublished Jul 8, 2024, 11:34am|Updated Jul 8, 2024, 11:35am
Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims the club are able to finance a move for Spain’s Euro 2024 star Nico Williams this summer.
The 21-year-old was one of Athletic Bilbao’s standout performers last season, scoring five goals and registering 11 assists in La Liga.
And he’s been one of Spain’s key players at Euro 2024 as La Roja prepare to play France in their semi-final tie on Tuesday night.
Williams has attracted interest from several clubs for the summer transfer window with Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona all discussing a potential deal.
The winger’s availability has also been made easier due to the €55 million (£46.5m) release clause in his contract with Athletic Bilbao.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are unable to register new signings due to their financial issues, which appeared to hand Arsenal and Chelsea an advantage in the race to sign Williams.
However, Laporta is adamant that Barcelona will be able to sign Williams during the current window.
‘Economically speaking, we could commit to the signing of Nico Williams,’ Laporta said on El mati de Catalunya Radio.
‘Nico’s a player I like, I like him a lot. We are working with [Hansi] Flick on possible signings. Now we have to leave Deco to close the operations we are working on.
‘Shortly we will be able to announce some good news with regard to the financial [issues] and we will be back within La Liga’s Fair Play limits. And that will allow further good news in terms of [transfers].’
Asked about his future last week, Williams insisted that he will not make a decision until after Spain’s Euro 2024 campaign is over.
‘In the end, my brother [Athletic team-mate Inaki Williams] is a very important person for me . He has lived a similar situation to mine,’ Williams said.
‘He has also had offers from outside Athletic, but I said that I didn’t want to know anything about what comes from outside, about signings or stories.
‘They know what I am like, the personality I have, and I don’t like to know because I get distracted easily. I prefer to focus on one thing and go for it.
‘Because if one thing or another comes to me, in the end my head doesn’t work very well.
‘My agent, my parents and my family know me perfectly and they know that I don’t want to hear anything until the Euros are over.’
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