Fabrizio Romano confirms Barcelona transfer stance as Aston Villa and Manchester City targets discussed

Aston Villa transfer target Nico Williams is expected to stay at Athletic Bilbao despite strong interest from Barcelona.

According to Spanish outlet Diario AS, club officials at Barcelona view the deal as 'practically dead' with the Catalan giants citing the pressure of his family and his club as the reason for their inability to sign him.

Williams was Barcelona's top target this summer with his reported €58 million affordable, but other factors have meant that a move hasn't been possible. Barcelona have been unable to guarantee that he would be registered with La Liga immediately and are limited as to what they can do because of the spending limit imposed by the league. 

ESPN's report adds that those close to PSG believe that Williams wants to join Barcelona but that a deal can't be done right now as he has doubts about the move because of the club's financial issues. The French giants are on the search for a replacement for Kylian Mbappe after losing him to Real Madrid on a free transfer.

Barcelona will now move on to Dani Olmo who is their ‘Plan B’. He was reportedly of interest to Premier League champions Manchester City this summer. 

Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Olmo is ready to accept a move to the Camp Nou. He's 'more than keen' on the move with talks taking place last weekend. Barcelona and Leipzig have been in discussions over a deal. 

Barcelona are hoping to raise funds to sign Olmo after a move for Williams seemed dead in the water and they could now sell a player Aston Villa passed up on the opportunity to sign. Clement Lenglet was on loan at Villa Park last season, but there was no purchase option in the deal.

The 29-year-old played 25 times last season and made 24 starts. Despite being a constant member of Unai Emery's match day squads, Villa didn't entertain the idea of signing him on a permanent basis.

According to journalist Santi Aouna, Lenglet is subject of interest to Atletico and he would be keen on making the move to the Metropolitano Stadium. Real Sociedad are also reportedly interested according to Mundo Deportivo, and a departure looks on the cards for Lenglet despite impressing new boss Hansi Flick