Nico Williams of Athletic Club is a player who is attracting a lot of interest owing to the fact that his contract expires at the end of the season.
Barcelona, for one, have taken a keen interest in the 21-year-old Spanish international’s services, given that Xavi wants to have an out-and-out left-winger in his squad.
Even though reports suggested that Nico was set to sign a contract extension with Athletic, his agent recently clarified that nothing is set in stone, leaving the door open for an exit.
Real Madrid enter the picture
However, as per AS, Barcelona will now have to face serious competition from arch-rivals Real Madrid in pursuit of Nico Williams.
Barça’s economic situation, however, means that they will only consider signing the 21-year-old if he is available for free in the summer.
To that end, they might look to take advantage of the youngster’s friendship with some of the Barça players to convince him to not sign a new contract with Athletic Club.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid would not have any problems paying a fee to secure Nico’s services and would be open to shelling out a sum of around €50 million, which happens to be his release clause amount.
Nico would prefer Real Madrid
Even though clubs from the Premier League are keen, the 21-year-old prefers to continue in Spain, giving Barça and Real Madrid an edge.
As per the report, Real Madrid might have an edge over Barcelona, though, not only due to the financial situation but also because the player would prefer a move to the Spanish capital.
On top of that, it is claimed that Nico would prefer to leave Athletic for a fee rather than walk out on a free transfer, meaning he could sign a new contract with the release clause amount remaining intact.
Such a stance would put the Blaugrana in a more disadvantageous position.
