Barcelona sporting director Deco has on Wednesday provided an insight into the club’s ultimately fruitless efforts to bring in Nico Williams from La Liga rivals Athletic Club over the summer.
The name of wide-man Williams, of course, took its place front and centre in the media headlines through the recently-closed transfer window.
This came with the 22-year-old’s continued excellence for club and country alike having sparked widespread interest in his signature.
Barcelona, for one, pushed hard to bring Nico in for much of the summer, eager to unite the Spanish international with close friend Lamine Yamal.
In the end, however, the player came to the decision to stay put in Bilbao.
Not only that, but he recently took ownership of the no.10 jersey in Ernesto Valverde’s squad, reiterating Williams’ commitment to the cause.
Speaking during an appearance on ‘Barca One’, as cited by Diario Sport, this week, it therefore came as little surprise when Nico’s name was quickly put to the aforementioned Deco.
And, in his response, the Blaugrana director hinted that it was the club’s call, rather than that of the player, which saw the transfer called off:
“I’ll tell you again. We’re talking about level. Today we have Raphinha, Ferran, the return of Ansu, Lamine and players like Fermin or Olmo who can play there. To bring someone in, they had to be of a very high level. With the signing of Dani, it gave you more options. It’s not that we haven’t spoken to players, but we had other priorities that have been decisive in not bringing in another winger.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
