Nico Williams could start pre-season with Flick as Barcelona prepare to activate release clause in 2-3 weeks | OneFootball

Barcelona are closing in on the signing of Nico Williams, with plans in place to activate his release clause within the next two to three weeks, according to a recent update from journalist Victor Navarro.

The journalist mentions that the club is moving swiftly to ensure that the Athletic Club star is available for the start of pre-season under Hansi Flick on July 13th, a date that also marks Lamine Yamal’s 18th birthday.

It is to be noted that after a key meeting between Barça’s sporting director Deco and Nico’s agent, the wheels were set in motion and the process is now in its final stages.

Internally, the club is 90–95% confident that the transfer will be completed smoothly.

As such, the 22-year-old winger is expected to sign a six-year contract, similar to that of their new signing Joan Garcia.

Banking on exits to finalise salary room

Barcelona want to wrap up Nico Williams’ transfer. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Although Barcelona are fully committed to signing the Athletic Club winger, they remain aware of the financial challenge involved.

The club must create enough room within their salary cap to register the winger. Ideally, this would involve completing a big-money sale, but that is easier said than done.

Two players who could bring in significant transfer fees are Fermin Lopez and Ronald Araujo, but both of them have made it clear they want to stay, despite attracting interest from across Europe.

Even so, the board is confident they can achieve the necessary wage reductions by offloading other squad members such as Ansu Fati, Oriol Romeu and even Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who are not central to Flick’s plans.

For Barça, signing Nico Williams is a strategic move, not just another transfer. They know they must finalise everything by mid-July to avoid complications, such as Nico joining Athletic’s preseason, which could create unwanted friction.