Spanish media reported that Barcelona took a step closer to signing Nico Williams on Wednesday when sporting director Deco met with Felix Tainta, the Athletic Bilbao star’s agent, at the club. Zaragoza..

As revealed by journalist Gerard Romero, the meeting lasted several hours and took place at the request of President Joan Laporta, who wanted the transfer to be completed as quickly as possible. It is known that Barca has made an offer to Nico Williams and is currently hoping to agree to terms soon. President Laporta recently strongly stated that Barca has enough finances to sign a contract with Williams, and it seems that he is rushing to complete this deal in the face of attention from big English teams.

Nico Williams rose to prominence last season with Athletic’s success, followed by a stunning performance that helped Spain win Euro 2024. However, the 22-year-old winger has a release clause in his contract. worth only 58 million EUR, completely within financial capacity and this is the reason why Barca strongly approached. In addition to offering a 5-year contract and a large salary, Barca also has the advantage of understanding and harmony between Nico Williams and their 17-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal.

Director Deco and his team appear to be working tirelessly behind the scenes to add new talent to the club’s squad, amid a long-standing fragile financial situation. However, their former coach Xavi, who parted ways at the end of last season, sent a cautious message to Barca supporters, emphasizing that the current team is lagging far behind Real Madrid – the double winner. La Liga and Champions League last season, just released superstar Kylian Mbappe. Appearing on the recently released Netflix documentary, Xavi said: “People have to understand that Barca will probably be less competitive for a while and need to build little by little.”

New coach Hansi Flick is also currently facing a summer where he cannot fully prepare with Barca. In addition to the injuries of midfielders Pedri and Gavi, prodigy Lamine Yamal and a series of Spanish players such as Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres also missed the pre-season tour in the US for many different reasons.