With the signing of Joan García already officialized, FC Barcelona can now fully concentrate on the incorporation of Nico Williams, a player who seems to have established himself as the favorite in the race to reinforce the left wing of the team.
In this sense, the Blaugrana team is preparing to execute a new key move to direct the arrival of the Pamplona forward. This Wednesday, as commented in Jijantes, a committee of representatives from Barça, led by Deco (sporting director), along with Bojan (football area advisor) and Alejandro Echevarría (close collaborator to the presidency), traveled to Ibiza with the intention of advancing in the negotiation for the '10' of Athletic Club.
This trip makes perfect sense, as it recently transpired that Nico Williams is on vacation on the island, where the Blaugrana coach, Hansi Flick, has also been resting. It is expected that the German coach will participate directly in a meeting with the aforementioned Barça delegation to take advantage of dealing with key market issues: possible departures necessary to finalize the signing of the Spanish international and contract details of the player that must be resolved to ensure effective registration.
Nico Williams' desire and Barcelona's confidence
It should be remembered that Barcelona already held a meeting last Friday with the agent of the younger of the Williams brothers, in which, apparently, he made clear the left winger's willingness to join the Blaugrana club. The Navarre forward would be willing to join in this same summer market, provided that the necessary conditions are guaranteed to be registered without setbacks.
This predisposition has given wings to the board to accelerate the closing of the transfer, an operation that also has the approval of all sectors of the club. In fact, it is said that Hansi Flick has already approved the signing, and has even spoken with the player to explain the details of the new sports project.
The arrival of the Pamplona native would also have the endorsement of Joan Laporta, who at first was reluctant due to the player's snub last summer. However, the president would have ended up being convinced that this incorporation can be strategic, both for the present and for the future.
Agreed contract and the clause as a possible route
Now it only remains to be seen how the operation develops. Although there has been speculation about a pre-agreement between Nico Williams and Barcelona - a contract for six seasons and a salary of 12 M€ gross per year - the most complicated step is still missing: reaching an agreement with Athletic Club.
From the Basque team they do not seem willing to negotiate a transfer and refer directly to the termination clause, which amounts to 58 M€ plus CPI, which would raise the total cost to about 62 'kilos'.
The Blaugrana club needs to free up salary mass
From here, it will be necessary to see how Barcelona manages to fit the operation. Once the signing is closed, it must guarantee its correct registration, which will involve finalizing several departures in the coming weeks. The objective is to avoid controversies such as those experienced in the past with players such as Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, whose registration gave much to talk about due to problems with 'fair play' financial in LaLiga.