Athletic Club boss Valverde provides Nico Williams injury update amid Real Madrid transfer links | OneFootball

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde has on Saturday spoken out on the future of star winger Nico Williams.

This of course comes amid a fresh round of speculation, linking the attacker with a summer exit from the Basque Country.

After Nico was tipped for a move to Barcelona throughout last summer’s transfer window, recent weeks have seen Spanish football’s other leading club, in Real Madrid, credited with a serious interest in the 22-year-old.

During his final pre-match press conference of the La Liga campaign on Saturday, it therefore came as little surprise when the subject of Nico’s potential exit was put to manager Ernesto Valverde.

Specifically, Athletic Club’s headmaster was asked whether he expects to still have his star wide-man at his disposal next season.

And Valverde appeared confident in the chances of as much, in responding:

“I think so, we assume so, and we hope so. There are always rumors about many players, including Nico. La Liga ends tomorrow, everything gets thrown into a pot, the ball starts rolling, you know how it is, the Premier League, all the European leagues… We’re very happy with him, and I think he’s happy with us. Let’s hope next year is a great year for him here.”

Conor Laird – GSFN