Four days ago, we covered a report from AS, who explained that Manchester United ‘thought’ about signing Athletic Bilbao’s Iñaki Williams, but lack of time and his €88m release clause and other factors complicated the operation.
The Red Devils wanted to sign the 25-year-old as a replacement for Romelu Lukaku, who completed a switch to Inter in Italy.
On Monday, Williams signed a new long-term contract, keeping him at the Basque club until 2028, a deal which also saw his release clause rise to €135m.
Sport now claims the ‘interest shown by Manchester United’ and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side willingness to pay €88m (previous release clause) for the Spaniard saw Bilbao accelerate the operation to extend Williams’ contract.
Another Spanish newspaper AS also explain there has been an approach from United for Williams.
It’s claimed the player’s agent received a call from the Old Trafford club, but there was never an advanced approach because the player’s renewal at Bilbao was already on track.
Whether any of this interest was genuine will probably remain a well kept secret, but this wouldn’t be the first time agents have used United to get their client signed up quicker.
We’ve seen it time and time again, and the Lukaku sale would have been the perfect opportunity to initiate that final push, making the story slightly more believable than if the Belgian had remained at Old Trafford.
