Arsenal have reportedly leapfrogged Barcelona in the race to sign Nico Williams. Both clubs have been vying for the Athletic Bilbao winger’s signature for a while, with the Gunners initially eyeing a move in the summer transfer window.
Despite turning their attention then to Raheem Sterling, who was a more cost-effective option from Chelsea at the time, Arsenal could revisit their interest in Williams soon. The 22-year-old has an eye-watering release clause in his contract worth €65m (£54.2m), which both the north Londoners and Barcelona may be in a position to trigger.
However, according to ESPN, Williams’ salary expectations currently pose a problem for the Catalan giants. The report states that the Spaniard is believed to be seeking wages in the region of €9m to €10m-per-season (£7.5m to £8.3m) – a figure that’s too steep for Barcelona.
ESPN state that this has caused the La Liga outfit to shift their focus towards Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at Napoli, potentially giving Arsenal a clear path to Williams. Deco has recently commented on the club’s previous interest in the Bilbao talisman.
As quoted by the Mirror, the Barcelona chief said: “Nico is a player who, yes, we were interested in during the summer. We tried to bring him in, but from there, the player made a decision, and life goes on.”
Barcelona’s pursuit of fresh talent saw them bring in Dani Olmo, with the club’s hierarchy viewing him as a key addition due to the lack of similar players in the squad. The club also sought to ramp up competition in the attacking department by targeting Williams, but the move fell through when the player expressed disinterest.
“We brought in Dani Olmo, who was our priority because we didn’t have that type of player in our squad,” added Deco. “The idea with Nico was to add more competition upfront, because we wanted high-level competition, but once the player shows no interest in coming, there’s no further discussion.”
In a separate development, Victor Font criticised incumbent Joan Laporta for giving fans false hope regarding a potential deal for Spanish forward Nico Williams. Speaking candidly to The Athletic, the Barcelona presidential-hopeful expressed his desire for the signing.
“I wish we could sign Nico Williams because that’s what we need,” said Font. “The president has said that it is possible, but that is not true. Today it cannot be done. We hope that it will be possible tomorrow. But today, it is not.”
Font also highlighted the growing issue of trust within the fanbase. He added: “The members want to dream and believe what they tell us. The problem is that they have been telling us for three summers that everything is fine.
“That we will sign players and that everything is resolved. With each passing year, credibility falls. And this summer, if promises are not kept, credibility will fall even more.”
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