According to El Correo, Athletic Bilbao are focusing on tying Nico Williams to a new deal amidst interest from Aston Villa.
The Spanish club have renewed Unai Gomez’s contract until 2028 are have now turned their attention towards Williams.
As per the report, the Spanish club’s board has realised that the ‘greatest threat to the sporting future’ of the club comes from the situation surround Williams who has attracted interest from several clubs including Aston Villa and Barcelona.
The report claims that Athletic Bilbao understands that the ‘priority’ for them is to renew the contract of the 21-year-old and all efforts needs to be focused on it.
It is being reported by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo that the club and the player are close to agreeing on a new deal. The player has a €50m release clause in his current contract. The new contract will see an increase in the release clause but as per the report, the release clause will not be beyond €60m.
That being said, €60m is a fee that the likes of Aston Villa can afford as they have shown in recent transfer windows.
If the player is keen on joining the Premier League side, the fee may not be a problem for Villa.
The winger has scored 12 goals and assisted 11 in 91 appearances for the Spanish side. This season he has 4 assists in 6 games in the league.