Aston Villa could have been handed a boost in their potential pursuit of Athletic Club Bilbao’s Nico Williams, as rivals Barcelona are ‘very close to losing’ their chance to get him.
That’s according to Sport, who say the player is very close to signing a new deal with his club and thus ruling Barcelona out of the running.
Williams’ current deal with Athletic expires next summer and that has led to something of a race developing for him given he will be free to start pre-contract negotiations over a free transfer come January.
Aston Villa are one of the sides known to be keen on him and even tried to get a deal done in the summer transfer window, only for the player to decide to stay where he was.
They’ve continued to be linked with a potential move since, with it even posited they could use their financial muscle to outgun the likes of Barcelona, who don’t have any.
The Catalans are only interested if they can get Williams on a free and that is now unlikely to be available as the player is close to agreeing a new deal with Athletic.
Barcelona had moved to make the player and his agents aware of their interest and position themselves accordingly, but the news from Bilbao is that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and they’ve convinced Williams to sign an extension.
That deal would see him extend his contract beyond 2024 and slightly increase his release clause, thus preventing a free transfer but leaving a move away very much still a possibility for the right fee.
That suits both parties but not Barcelona, who don’t currently have the financial wiggle room to be signing anyone by paying their release clause, which would be €50m once the deal is signed.
That’s something Aston Villa could easily afford, particularly as they continue to back Unai Emery, so a move there is far more likely than to the Nou Camp, should they wish to pursue Williams again.
