Nico Williams has decided to stay at Athletic Club this summer for four main reasons, a report has claimed.
Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea have both shown an interest in Williams over the last few months, while Barcelona particularly were aggressive with a pursuit for the winger.
But MARCA report Williams will not leave Athletic this summer and has four key reasons behind his desire to stay in the Basque Country.
Firstly, the 22-year-old is aware that while he is a star on the rise, he is not yet the complete package and is still in the early stages of his career. Therefore, he is happy to stay at a smaller club and continue his development with Athletic, who will return to the Europa League this season with the possibility of competing in the final at their home stadium.
Williams is also on a lucrative contract at Athletic having agreed a generous renewal a few months ago. The club’s policy of only recruiting players with Basque heritage affords them more flexibility to hand out big-money deals due to lower transfer expenditure, and as MARCA colourfully put it, Athletic do not necessarily pay their players ‘in supermarket vouchers’.
There is also a sense of belonging and family at Athletic, where Williams has been since a schoolboy and plays alongside his old brother, Inaki. He has a very close bond with the club and the fanbase, which would make it harder for him to say goodbye.
The Williams family’s agents are particularly aware of their interests and have not let them down to this point, helping them secure those handsome contracts from Athletic. The suggestion is they would not advise leaving Athletic if they do not feel such a move is right.
Williams returned to Athletic training earlier this week and hinted in a social media post that he would be staying for the 2024/25 season.
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