Strategy by Barcelona President Joan Laporta played role in Nico Williams rejection | OneFootball

Barcelona are currently looking at late options to strengthen their squad, and it seems they are still set on signing a left winger this summer, with Juventus’ Federico Chiesa the most heavily linked of late. Of course, their original target was Nico Williams.

The Athletic Club winger decided to stay in Bilbao for at least one more season though, after several weeks of intense speculation. That included Barcelona President Joan Laporta coming out and publicly stating that Barcelona were in a position to sign him financially.

The main reason he decided to stay at Athletic is that his close circle advised him it was the best option, and he was attracted by the dream of playing in Europe with Los Leones. They will compete in the Europa League, with the final held at San Mames next May. Equally, he also feels that Ernesto Valverde is a manager that gets the best out of him.

One of the secondary reasons was the public pursuit by Barcelona, say Diario AS. The constant leaking of every step of the deal, the public pressure, and the lack of guarantee that Barcelona could register him swiftly all played their part. The Williams camp were not certain that Williams would not end up in a situation like Dani Olmo, where he has made the move but is unable to play. A portion of the leaks were not faithful to the truth either.

Amid the constant rumours, his Athletic Club teammates reacted to defend him in the media and try to protect him. Those doubts from Williams were aided by Laporta’s presidential rival Victor Font, who declared that Barcelona could not do a deal for the 22-year-old as things stood.

As has been evidenced by Olmo’s situation, Font was correct. The concern for Barcelona fans now will be that even with the signing of Dani Olmo, Barcelona try to save face with another flashy signing, one that has not been considered carefully and identified as the right move.