TOP STORY: Barca eyeing to sign Nico Williams

Barcelona are prioritising the signing of a defensive pivot but will aim to sign Athletic Club winger Nico Williams once that position has been filled, reports Diario Sport.

The Blaugrana are clear that they need explosiveness on the left wing, and the 21-year-old is their favoured option out of players who are within reach.

Barça consider the price of just over €50 million to be fair, and, while they would have preferred to sign Williams as a free agent, they understand the renewal in December was a logical step for Athletic.

Williams' profile, age, price, explosiveness, language and knowledge of LaLiga are what put him at the top for Barça, with the only doubt being that he could be more creative in static situations.

They like Luis Díaz for that reason, but the Liverpool winger is seen as being completely unaffordable.

If Barça complete the aforementioned move for a pivot -- with Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich and Real Sociedad's Martín Zubimendi being named -- they could play a classic 4-3-3 with Williams on one wing and Lamine Yamal on the other.

Even when the Spain international renewed his contract, Barca have never stopped discussions with those around him and now need to begin trying to put things into writing.

PAPER GOSSIP

- Juventus are looking at Bologna's Joshua Zirkzee, Atletico Madrid's Álvaro Morata, Genoa's Albert Gudmundsson and Manchester United's Getafe loanee Mason Greenwood as they aim to strengthen in attack, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport. Zirkzee is the dream signing but the 22-year-old would cost around €60m while Morata would be approximately €15m. They face competition from Internazionale for Gudmundsson.

- Bayern Munich have held several talks regarding AC Milan left-back Theo Hernández, who would be open to joining the Bavarians, but there has still been no contact between the clubs, reports Florian Plettenberg. A move depends on Alphonso Davies' future and Bayern expect a deal for Hernandez to acquire over €60m if they sign the 26-year-old.

- Marco Reus will leave Borussia Dortmund after the UEFA Champions League final and the attacking midfielder has received inquiries from clubs such as St. Louis City, Inter Miami and Al Nassr, reports Sky Sports Deutschland. The 34-year-old will think carefully about his next move and his wife will also have a say as the BVB icon's family will be moving with him.

- It will take £50m for Tottenham Hotspur to sign Ivan Toney from Brentford this summer, reports Football Insider. Interest from the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea has cooled, but West Ham United could provide competition and Spurs still see the 28-year-old as an option to ease their striker issues.

- 16-year-old attacking midfielder Guido Della Rovere made his Cremonese debut on Friday but has already been compared to Paulo Dybala and Kaka. As reported by Tuttosport, he has also impressed enough before that debut for Juventus to attempt to sign him ahead of Bayern Munich this summer.

Source:
courtesy of ESPN

by Danny Lewis

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