Nico Williams’ deal with Barcelona is reportedly on hold as the club is not happy with the tone and demands of his agents regarding registration guarantees, according to revered journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Softfootball reports that the 22-year-old’s move to Barcelona is shaping up to be the summer’s biggest transfer saga in Spanish football. It has sparked an open war between Barca and Athletic Bilbao, his current club, with the player’s image also suffering.
Aware that they can only secure his services by paying his release clause, Barcelona is prepared to pay it, either in instalments or in a single payment, although there is currently a hurdle that has brought the operation to a standstill.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the main obstacle for the club at the moment in signing Nico is the guarantee of his registration with La Liga, or rather, the concern of the player’s agents regarding this issue.
According to the report, they are demanding full assurance from the Catalan club in this regard. Barcelona has assured the player and his agents that there will be no problems with fair play, but the stance and doubts of Nico’s representatives have not gone down well at the club.
Despite this, Barcelona intends to finalise the signing of Nico Williams as soon as possible (with whom they already have a full verbal agreement) to prevent the Spain international from changing his mind and exploring other offers (Bayern Munich are very interested) or even backtracking and staying at Athletic, a possibility that seems very unlikely given the unease that his situation has generated among the fans of the Bilbao side.
In this regard, journalist Gerard Romero, who is close to the news and transfer market of the team, pointed out this Monday in his programme ‘Jijantes’ that Barcelona already has the contracts prepared and drawn up for the signing of Nico.
The club has reportedly communicated this to the player and his entourage as a sign that everything has been expedited for his arrival at the club as soon as possible, as neither Barcelona nor the player wants to prolong the matter beyond the first few days of July.
Softfootball earlier reported that Nico Williams agreed Barcelona move despite Arsenal and Chelsea offers.
Reports suggest that Arsenal even tabled a more lucrative financial package than Barcelona, offering Williams a deal worth £7.6 million per year. However, the winger had his sights set on only one destination, Barcelona.
Amid the whole registration saga going on, Barça has given the Spaniard every assurance that his fair play status will evolve well and that they will be able to register him, but as of today, that’s not enough for the player. And this hasn’t gone down well with the club, which believes the tone has incomprehensibly risen in this regard compared to the initial conversations, in which the player showed complete confidence in the club.
