Barcelona's proposed deal for Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams has allegedly hit a snag over demands made from the player's side.
The La Liga champions appeared to have won the race to sign the Spain international last week, beating Bayern Munich and Arsenal to his signature.
Barcelona supposedly struck a verbal agreement with Williams over a six-year contract, and all that was left for the Blaugrana to do was trigger the £49.5m release clause in his Athletic deal.
However, reports emerged over the weekend claiming that Williams wanted guarantees that he would be registered in timefor the start of the new La Liga season before fully committing to the move.
The Euro 2024 winner is reportedly desperate not to suffer the same fate as Dani Olmo, who missed the first two gameweeks of the 2024-25 season as Barcelona originally could not register him without going over their salary cap.
Williams's Barcelona move 'stalls' over winger's demands
Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams on August 15, 2024
According to Mundo Deportivo, the requests from Williams and his agent for guarantees have been a 'complete surprise' for Barcelona, who deem their demands 'unacceptable' at this moment in time.
As a result, while Williams and Barcelona did reach a verbal agreement over a six-year deal, and the Blaugrana assured him that his registration concerns would be laid to rest, the move has now stalled.
There is supposedly 'concern and displeasure' among Barcelona chiefs due to the excessive demands of the winger's representatives, as the club simply telling him that there will be no registration concerns is not enough.
While Barcelona attempt to clear this major hurdle with Williams, who is still thought to view Camp Nou as his number one destination for a summer move, Bayern Munich are still believed to be keeping a close eye on developments.
On Athletic's side, they would reportedly rather see the 22-year-old make the move to the Bundesliga champions given their 'poor relationship' with Barcelona, and Bayern are also willing to fork out the full value of his release clause.
Has the Williams door re-opened for Arsenal?
Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams pictured in August 2024
While Bayern chiefs may be monitoring the situation with intent, it would be no surprise to learn that Arsenal are also aware of the alleged roadblock and ready to pounce if the opportunity arises.
The Gunners had seemingly moved on from Williams once it became clear that he was favouring a move to Barcelona, with more recent reports claiming that Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze is now a prime target.
However, The Athletic has now stated that Arsenal's pursuit of Eze is separate to their search for a new left-winger, a very intriguing development given the presences of Martin Odegaard, Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman centrally.
Therefore, if Williams and Barcelona cannot find a way beyond this registration impasse, expect the Gunners to reignite their interest quickly, as Mikel Arteta is thought to be a huge fan of the 22-year-old.
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