Nico Williams (Pamplona, 2002) is living a dream. The Athletic striker has gone in a few months from being a footballer who was looking to consolidate himself in the First Division to playing in a World Cup. His brilliant start to the season with three goals and six assists in the first seven days They served him to earn the qualification of indisputable for Ernesto Valverde and to be one of the key pieces of the great campaign that Athletic is carrying out. His speed, ability to overflow and his high level of play caused Luis Enrique to give him the alternative on September 24, making him an absolute international. The right winger was quick to respond to the coach’s confidence and three days later he would be the star of the victory against Portugal that classified Spain to play the ‘final four’ of the Nations League. It was the first time he had faced his idol Cristiano Ronaldo and he couldn’t have done better. The progression of the youngest of the Williams brothers does not seem to have a ceiling and Last Wednesday he made his debut at the World Cup in Qatar.
Félix Tainta and Juan Ignacio Oyaga are the partners of the GIDOT Sport agency and representatives of Nico Williams, as well as his brother Iñaki, whom they discovered in the cadet category. The speed of the eldest of the Williams impressed Félix Tainta, just as the speed of his little brother has dazzled Luis Enrique, and from that moment player and agent joined their careers. “I live in Pamplona and I heard about a boy from Pamplona called Iñaki. I went to see him and I discovered a player with a speed that I had never seen before”. Nico was a kid who played futsal at the time and with the help of his brother Iñaki he became part of the Tainta y Oyaga agency. Since then, they have been a family.
Athletic has in Nico Williams a footballer called to mark an era in the Bilbao club. His contract is in force until 2024 and his clause is 50 million, but his spectacular irruption has not gone unnoticed by the big European clubs. In Italy, they even talk about the interest of Juventus. For this reason, Athletic wants to tie their jewel as soon as possible and start talking after the World Cup. Félix Tainta, for his part, is clear that it is time to be calm and not throw Nico Williams off center: “There has always been interest from clubs, but we always understood that where he was best was at home, with his brother and his family. We wanted him to grow in his environment and get to where he’s gotten. He has to enjoy the World Cup, which is something very beautiful and which could have been unthinkable many years ago. You don’t have to put pressure on it. Athletic is interested in renewing and we will talk to the club, but it is normal that there are other teams interested in young footballers and with Nico’s potential”.
Nico Williams still has a lot of room for improvement and Félix Tainta knows the recipe for further progress: “He is in the National Team, but he cannot sleep. He has to continue working with humility and with a lot of peace, so that no one misleads him”.
Right now
Marco Asensio He has proposals from the Premier League to sign after the World Cup in Qatar. The Spaniard is in great shape and, as Secretos de Mercado already announced, He still has hopes of renewing for Real Madrid.
Alex Garcia He is being one of Girona’s most outstanding players this season. The midfielder’s contract ends on June 30, but he will automatically renew for another year if the Catalan team manages to stay on. Betis and Atlético are very aware of him.