Barcelona president Joan Laporta says the club will fund the move of Spanish Euro 2024 star Nico Williams this summer.
The 21-year-old was one of Athletic Bilbao’s standout players last season, scoring five goals and registering 11 assists in La Liga.
And he has been one of Spain’s key players at Euro 2024 as La Roja prepares to face France in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.
Williams has attracted interest from a number of clubs for the summer transfer window, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona discussing a deal.
The winger’s availability has also been made less difficult thanks to the €55m (£46. 5m) release clause in his contract with Athletic Bilbao.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are unable to make new signings due to financial problems, which seems to give Arsenal and Chelsea an advantage in the race to sign Williams.
However, Laporta insists that Barcelona will be able to give Williams the existing window.
“Economically speaking, we may dedicate ourselves only to the signing of Nico Williams,” Laporta told El Mati radio in Catalunya.
“Nico is a player that I like, I like him a lot. We are working with [Hansi] Flick on imaginable signings. Now we have to leave Deco to close the operations we are carrying out.
“We will soon announce smart news related to monetary [issues] and we will be back within the bounds of La Liga’s fair play. And that will allow for smarter news in terms of [transfers]. “
When asked about his future last week, Williams insisted he would make a decision after the end of Spain’s Euro 2024 campaign.
“At the end of the day, my brother [his Athletic teammate Iñaki Williams] is a great user for me. He’s been in a similar situation to me,” Williams said.
“He also won offers from Athletic abroad, but I said that I didn’t want to know anything about what came from abroad, neither the signings nor the stories.
“They know what I’m like, what personality I have, and I don’t like to know because I get gently distracted. I prefer to stay in one thing and go through it.
“Because if something comes to mind, in the end my head doesn’t work very well.
“My agent, my parents and my family know me perfectly well and they know that I don’t need to hear anything before the end of the European Championship. “
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