El Nacional: Barcelona could turn to Milan star if Williams option vanishes | OneFootball

Barcelona fear that they will not be able to land Nico Williams as they hoped and they have turned their attention to AC Milan’s Rafael Leao, a report claims.

After starring at the European Championship with Spain, Barca have been pushing hard to sign Williams from Athletic Bilbao but have so far met stern resistance. As a result, they are having to evaluate alternative options.

According to El Nacional, Deco – the sporting director – has several names on his agenda in case Williams does not arrive. One of them is Luis Díaz of Liverpool, and he would cost around €60m, while Mitoma of Brighton and the return of Joao Felix are options but might not convince fans.

Laporta is aware that if Williams ends up rejecting Barcelona it will be a huge blow and that is why Rafael Leao is seen as the main alternative. The Portuguese star has a high asking price, but if Barca were willing to spend €60m for Williams and €40m for Olmo, they could combine that money and go for Leao.

If they decide to go for the winger, they can count on the fact that Jorge Mendes is his agent, a friend of Joan Laporta. On the other hand, Leao would have to put pressure on Milan to sit down and negotiate, and he has a contract that runs until 2028.

Barcelona believe that it would be possible, since the winger has said on several occasions that when he was a child he followed the Catalan team and that he was a fan of Ronaldinho. However, a lot depends on what happens with Williams.