La Liga giants FC Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle with Athletic Bilbao's young winger Nico Williams over the terms of a personal transfer, according to Daily Sport. However, the potential deal is not without hurdles, with Barcelona needing to overcome a number of challenges in terms of paying a hefty release fee as well as registering the player.
Barcelona are reportedly looking to bring in the highly-rated winger in this summer's transfer window and held in-depth talks with the player's agent last week. The two sides have agreed on personal terms and all the details have been worked out. However, to complete the deal, Barcelona will have to pay up to €58 million in outright release money as Athletic Bilbao are unwilling to enter into any kind of negotiations over the transfer of Nico Williams.
In addition, Barcelona also need to solve the problem of player registration, which is another major problem they face in the transfer operation. As Athletic Bilbao does not accept the transfer fee installments or other forms of apportionment program, Barcelona had to pay a huge amount of termination fee, which for the financial situation is not generous red and blue army is undoubtedly a major test.
Nico Williams himself, while eager to join Barcelona, will not wait indefinitely for the club to make a move. He has made it clear that he is 100% prioritizing joining the
Barcelona
, but also fully aware of the club's financial situation. Barcelona must finalize the transfer operation before the first week of August, otherwise the transfer of Nico Williams will become extremely complicated. The player does not want to leave the team without giving Athletic Bilbao enough time to find a replacement.
With the transfer deadline approaching, Barcelona need to act quickly to ensure that they can successfully sign the highly promising winger. If they fail to resolve their financial and registration issues in time, then the transfer of Nico Williams could come to naught, which would be a heavy blow to Barcelona's summer reinforcement plans.
