Despite previous reports that he was out of Barcelona’s plans, Athletic Bilbao star Neco Williams is close to joining the Catalan club.
Sport newspaper revealed that Barça’s sporting director, Deco, met with Williams’ agent in the last few hours to discuss the player’s move to Camp Nou.
The details of this meeting, as well as its outcome, are still unknown, but some indications suggest that Williams is close to joining the Blaugrana.
Lamine Yamal, who is very close to Williams, posted a photo of himself with the Basque player on his Instagram account after the news spread.
The media immediately interpreted this as Yamal having information from either Barcelona or Williams about an agreement between the two parties on the deal.
If Barcelona decides to sign Williams, it will need to pay Athletic Bilbao €60 million, the value of the player’s release clause with the San Mamés team.
Bayern Munich recently entered the race to sign Williams, and the player reportedly agreed to a deal worth €20 million per year.
The 22-year-old Williams was on Barcelona’s radar last summer, but at the last minute, he opted to stay with Bilbao for another year.
President Joan Laporta previously announced that the player was no longer on Barcelona’s radar, while newspapers indicated that Barça’s top target this summer was Liverpool star Luis Diaz.
However, with the Reds insisting on €80 million for the Colombian star, it appears Barcelona has decided to turn to the cheaper alternative: Williams, especially since the player has impressed every time he wears the Spanish national team jersey, in addition to his strong relationship with the current Camp Nou star, Lamine Yamal.
