There’s never a dull moment at Barcelona just now, and with the club seemingly destined to go all out to sign Athletic Club’s Nico Williams, it would appear that one exciting first-team ace is going to be eased out of the exit door and towards a transfer to the Saudi Pro League.
Though the summer transfer window doesn’t close for a while yet, Williams’ excellent performances at Euro 2024 has made Barca’s desire to land him even more urgent.
Barcelona will sell Vitor Roque to land Nico Williams
The issue remains his reported €58m release clause, which the Catalans are still unable to square off under Financial Fair Play just yet.
With other clubs believed to be interested in the 21-year-old’s services, the blaugranes will need to work hard and fast to bring Williams to Catalonia.
In order to help push through his transfer, Sport are reporting that Barcelona are preparing to sell Vitor Roque to an as yet unnamed Saudi Pro League club.
The outlet note that not only would Barca recoup the money they paid for the 19-year-old, but they would also get a significant financial uplift on that €30m (The Athletic, subscription required) outlay.
It’s as astonishing turnaround from the club, given that part of the reason Xavi was believed to have been sacked is because he didn’t give Vitor Roque enough playing opportunities in the second half of the 2023/24 season.
Such is the desire for Williams, that Messrs. Laporta, Deco and Flick seem to be united in agreement that the only way to definitively afford the Athletic Club winger is by sanctioning a deal for the young Brazilian.
That’s something that even just a few weeks ago would’ve seemed incredibly unlikely.