Barca communicate plan to sign Nico Williams – Chelsea willing to double salary

Barcelona President Joan Laporta made a surprise appearance on Catalunya Radio on Monday morning, and even more surrprising were his declarations. Promising good news soon, Laporta also stated that the Blaugrana were in a financial position to sign Nico Williams.

The Basque winger has a €58m release clause, and Relevo report that he has been made their number one objective this summer. His good end to the season with Athletic Club, combined with his Euro 2024 run has convinced Laporta and Deco that he must be signed.

Former Director of Football Mateu Alemany contacted his agents a year ago, but he signed a renewal with Athletic. Xavi Hernandez was insisting on Williams this summer though, and now Laporta is convinced – they also know Williams would like to sign for the club and play alongside Lamine Yamal.

Their information goes on to say that Barcelona have communicated to his agents their plan to sign the 21-year-old. They know they cannot compete financially with Premier League interest from Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, and that the former are willing to double his wages.

However they will try to persuade him all the same, and are willing to sacrifice all other moves to get Williams through the door. They have not given Williams exact quantities, but they will offer a fixed salary that will rise exponentially if he reaches some easy objectives, like a number of games played – they still do not know exactly how much they will have to spend.

For his part, Williams has maintained that he will not listen to anything his agents have to say until after Euro 2024, and that he is happy in Bilbao. No doubt the prospect of playing another year with his brother and playing in Europe with Athletic will be an attractive one. This summer could be a test of where his priorities lie.