Last week Aston Villa target, Nico Williams signed a new contract with Athletic Bilbao, but this might not be the end of Villa’s pursuit.
This season, Aston Villa have been in great form and are well in the hunt for a top-four finish come the end of the campaign.
With Unai Emery at the wheel, the Villans have come on leaps and bounds and are now genuine Champions League contenders.
As a result of this, the standard of players that can be attracted to B6 is quickly improving and transfer windows are becoming more and more exciting.
Over the summer, the signings of Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby in particular, had Villa fans very excited for the future.
With the January transfer window fast approaching, there have been many rumours surrounding the club right now. In saying that, one of the main targets had appeared to turn down a move in favour of a new contract. This could make a deal more likely in the strangest way.
What has been said about Nico Williams?
Aston Villa have been linked to Nico Williams for what feels like years now, without a deal ever coming to pass, unfortunately.
His contract situation did have plenty of eyes on it and in the past week reached an anticlimatic end as he signed a new deal.
With this, according to Mundo Deportivo, ‘Barcelona have decided against making a move for Williams this winter.’ This takes one obstacle out of Villa’s way in trying to bring the young Spaniard through the doors at Bodymoor Heath.
On Williams’ contract situation, TEAMtalk reported: “Following months of transfer rumours and speculation over his future, the Spain international penned a new deal with Bilbao until 2027 on Friday.
“All new contracts in LaLiga require a release clause, and Bilbao have set Williams’ at a surprisingly modest €50m (£42.9m), which is affordable for many of his admirers.”
It is unclear when this clause comes into effect but for this purpose let’s say that it starts immediately. This gives the Villains a much better chance at signing Williams than they might have before. In today’s market, a player of his quality for that fee would be a superb bit of business.
It must be said that he would still have to agree to a deal on a personal level and as a result a deal still won’t be straightforward. Williams would be a great signing but may take some convincing from Emery and Co.
