Former Barcelona captain says he would sacrifice €50m winger for Nico Williams | OneFootball

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It is often interesting to see former players and coaches of FC Barcelona provide their own insights on current issues. Not only do they usually have something interesting to point out, but they also tend to have unique impressions about things. Now that they are no longer players of FC Barcelona, they often speak with more transparency.

At the moment, there are a lot of things that FC Barcelona is involved in that could use a second opinion. The club is looking to adjust the sales of their assets, signing new deals that could bring in hundreds of millions, but they are also looking to sign exciting new talents to help elevate the team.

However, as highlighted by SPORT, former Barcelona captain Tente Sanchez seems to have a strong opinion about which player Barcelona should be willing to part ways with to bring in another superstar from Athletic Club who he seems to rate quite highly:

“Before thinking about signing Nico Williams, Barça must be on par with Rule 1:1 (rule). I consider him a very good player, and I say this very clearly, he is proving it alongside Lamine Yamal. They are young, daring, and have the level.”

As for the player he would be willing to lose in order to bring in Nico Williams, the former Barcelona captain was quite open about his choice:

“Nico could play in a top-level team without any problem. If there’s a chance to sign him, I would sign him. I’ll go further: if there’s a possibility Raphinha could leave and we can get some money, I’d sign Nico. When I watch a match with both of them playing, I pay more attention to Nico than to Raphinha.”

Speaking of Nico Williams, Tente Sanchez believes he understands the game as well as his compatriot Lamine Yamal, who is currently one of the prodigies of FC Barcelona:

Moreover, from a tactical point of view, Sanchez thinks that the concerns of having Nico Williams and Alejandro Balde playing on the same flank are unjustified and are a problem that the right tactics and adjustments can fix:

“Nico, both at Athletic and in the national team, when the full-back moves up, he makes sure to drop back. Balde, on the other hand, despite being an attacking full-back, has a more defensive profile than Joao Cancelo. When one moves forward, the other stays back. It’s a matter of organizing, nothing more.”

At the moment, Barcelona do remain heavily linked to the 21-year-old Athletic Club star. While the Catalan club will reportedly do whatever it takes to sign the player, it would appear that his focus remains on succeeding at the European Championship for now as he looks to face France in the semi-finals.