Marca: Many giants want to sign Nico Williams, Athletic Bilbao is trying hard to keep

According to Marca, many giants including Bayern, Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in signing Nico Williams this summer, and Athletic Bilbao is trying hard to retain the player.

Athletic Bilbao was originally expected to fight a fierce battle around the winger this summer, and now they hope to ensure Nico's stay with the team through an increase in salary and termination terms and extend his contract with the team until 2027. However, the salary increase this time is lower than the net income of 10 million euros revealed by some professional journalists on social media last week.

Nico, who is about to turn 23, is currently on vacation, but he knows he is at the center of the transfer market. Among all potential buyers, Bayern is the most active, while Athletic Bilbao hopes to retain Nico by refusing to transfer again.

Since January 2023, he has rejected invitations from other clubs three times: First, Aston Villa is willing to pay the 50 million euro termination fee at the time to take him away. Then in the summer of the same year, Villa tried again but failed. After the 2024 European Cup, Barcelona also tried their best to win him, but was also turned away. In addition to the above companies, other clubs have also extended olive branches to him.

After the match against Atletico Madrid on August 31 this year, Nico explained his decision at a press conference held at the San Mames Stadium: "Many teams are interested in me, and I have received a lot of offers, but I am very happy here. Bilbao is my home, and I only have red and white colors in my heart."

But at the same press conference, when he said, "I decided to stay for another year after discussing with my parents and brother", he left some suspense for the future. Now, this "one year" period has ended.

Athletic Bilbao believes that the conditions that prompted Nico to stay remain valid last year are still valid, and it is an ideal environment for the young player to grow, especially given the vast stage the Champions League offers and the opportunity to play alongside his older brother Inijaki, who has become the team's first captain. Of course, the club also understands very well that it will become increasingly difficult to reject external temptations again.