After shocking the world of football by extending his Athletic Club contract, Nico Williams now wants his boyhood side to make another splash in the market.
The Spain international has been on the of the protagonists of this summer window so far, and he isn’t quite done yet with hogging the spotlight. On Friday, Williams took everyone by surprise when he signed a historic new contract with Athletic Club.
Although the 22-year-old was keen on a move to Barcelona, he wanted assurances that the Catalans could actually register him. With no such guarantees forthcoming, he decided to commit his future to Athletic by signing a stunning 10-year contract.
It is the longest deal currently in football, at least judging by the contracts that have been disclosed to the public, and it has seen his €60 million release clause increased to €100m.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the winger will actually stay at Athletic for the next decade, but it is certainly a massive statement. Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano predicts that a move to Barcelona is now off the table for good after Williams snubbed them for a second year in a row.
Williams wants Laporte
With his future now secured, Athletic can safely plan for the upcoming season, and they are trying to be ambitious as they will compete in the Champions League next term.
One of the names that has been heavily linked with the Basque giants is former player Aymeric Laporte. The ex-Man City star has been playing for Al-Nassr since 2023, but he has been critical of Saudi football and has been open to a move for some time.
It was previously thought that Athletic could only afford Laporte if they were to cash in on Williams, but the massive deal handed out to the attacker illustrates that the San Mames club are in a very healthy financial state.
Moreover, Saudi sides have shown an openness to allow unhappy players to leave. Al-Nassr, for example, are on the verge of loaning Jhon Duran to Fenerbahce just six months after splashing €77m on him.
A move for Laporte certainly appears to have Williams’ seal of approval. The 22-year-old has shared a cryptic Instagram story of the centre-back in which Laporte wrote: “It’s going to happen, everything’s going to happen.”
A hint that he is on his way back to the Basque Country? Only time will tell.
Football transfer news headlines today
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
