The coming days will probably be decisive as Barcelona explores new ways to sign Nico Williams

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has made no secret of his interest in signing the winger from Athletic Club Nico Williams, much to the chagrin of the Athletic Club. This week could see the deal go one way or another.

To sign Williams, Barcelona must activate his €58m release clause. Until now Matteo Moretto had always reported that the Blaugrana would need to make a sale to make the deal possible, but their latest update is that they are now exploring other ways to do the deal, without first making a big sale.

There are more scheduled contacts with the camp of Nico Williams this week to get the green light on personal terms. @FabrizioRomano

— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 22, 2024

So they will look to sell other players after the Williams deal is over. “The next few days could be very important, one way or another,” said Moretto, after Sporting Director Deco met with Williams' agent, Felix Tainta, last week to discuss the terms of the contract

This information comes in the middle of talk that the Blaugrana ask for new line of credit to be able to afford Williams' release clause. Other reports say Barcelona are waiting for the green light from Williams to go ahead with the move, while Athletic Club are keen to show they are confident it won't go anywhere. Twice in the space of a week now manager Ernesto Valverde has said that he is relaxed about the situation, and that he expects the 22-year-old winger to return on August 12, when his holidays are over.