Paris Saint-Germain had Nico Williams interest turned down as Barcelona hold out hope

Athletic Club winger Nico Williams is Spain’s big hope for a successful Euro 2024 alongside Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal. The latter has declared a desire to play with him at club level too, but it’s a complicated route for Barcelona to sign him.

The financial uncertainty at the Catalan side means that any deal is complicated. Last summer Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain showed interest in him according to Sport, but Williams decided to remain in Bilbao.

This summer he is set to have significant interest from the Premier League too, with Villa, Liverpool and Arsenal all linked in recent months. The Catalan daily say that he would rather stay in Spain though, and there is a chance that he decides to stay in La Liga this summer – there are likely to be some major offers from England though.

🚨 Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz has been offered to Barcelona. @sport 🇧🇷

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 12, 2024

Any deal will cost the €50-60m that his release clause is believed to be and a large salary, to at least match if not increase the wage hike he has had since. With the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, Barcelona are the only destination in Spain that makes much sense, but he is aware that any deal is difficult. Currently, he is focused on the Euros at any rate.

Reportedly, Sporting Director at Barcelona Deco prefers Luis Diaz of Liverpool, but that too seems an unlikely move. If PSG look for another left winger, following the exit of Mbappe, then Luis Enrique knows the Athletic star inside out, although the impressive debut season of Bradley Barcola may get in the way. Beyond simply finding the money, Barcelona would likely have to pay it all up front, as Athletic will only accept his release clause, which adds a further degree of difficulty for the Blaugrana.