Ernesto Valverde unmoved by transfer rumors, confident of Nico Williams' stay at Athletic Club

Ernesto Valverde, the coach of Athletic Club, expressed his optimism and calmness regarding the future of his star player, Nico Williams, despite recent reports linking the Spanish-born Ghanaian winger with a move to FC Barcelona.

Valverde, speaking to the press in his first appearance of the 2024/2025 preseason, asserted that he does not envision a scenario where Williams does not continue with the Bilbao-based club.

Nico Williams had a fantastic season with the Lions in La Liga and played a key role in Spain's clinching of the 2024 Euro title.

"I don't see Nico not continuing, we aspire to have the best players in Bilbao and for them to want to be with us. We have a very exciting year, we even want to improve the team, which is already very good. We hope that these players want to continue here and that we can compete. It is important that they see that you can go to the national team while in Athletic or Real Sociedad and be one of the best footballers in the Euro Cup and have a great year," he said.

"I'm sure Nico loves the challenges that Athletic has ahead of him, I see him looking good and happy and I have no doubts about him.

"I have experienced the whole thing calmly. Happy with how things have gone for the national team and for Luis de la Fuente, Spain has been the best and it was fair that they won the title and on top of that with 3 players from Athletic, I hope they do have enjoyed such a special year. With Nico Williams, I'm happy for him, and from the rumors I don't think he's the only one affected, there are more players with the market open in the month of August.

"I sent him a WhatsApp message and he, well everyone, jokingly asked me for more vacation days, but I just congratulated them all on their title and we agreed that they would have 4 weeks of vacation.

"Does Iñaki have any influence on this issue? I can't always repeat the same thing, Nico Williams has a contract with Athletic and I don't give it any more thought, we think he's coming to Lezama and we're waiting for him to start training on the stipulated day, without further ado." Valverde ended.