Barcelona chief makes bold new claim about £49.1m Aston Villa and Chelsea target

One of the highest-rated youngsters on the planet, wonderkid Williams has been heavily linked with the Premier League’s elite teams. Currently at boyhood club Athletic Bilbao, the 21-year-old has been one of Spain’s most impressive players so far at UEFA EURO 2024.

Villa have been particularly mentioned as a potential destination, even despite Williams’ huge £250,000-per-week demands. Reports from as recent as last week have emerged that the Villans are still in the race, with Unai Emery a huge fan of the player.

Barcelona could spoil the party, though, as Laporta is confident of landing Williams this summer. “I like Nico, a lot. I can say that financially we can make it happen,” the club chief boldly told Catalunya Radio.

“It’s result of work that has been done over all these years to reach this point. We could, of course, face a signing of this level,” Laporta said.

Williams’ most recent campaign was his best to date as he scored eight goals and made 19 assists in 37 matches across all competitions for Athletic. The season before that was also eye-opening as the powerful winger directly contributed to 15 goals in 43 appearances.

Already an 18-time senior Spain international with three goals, Williams is undoubtedly one of the best young talents in European football. One goal and one assist in four games at the Euros has upped his stock even further, making his release clause of €58 million (£49.1 million) an absolute snip as a result.