Nico Williams is attracting interest from a host of Europe’s top teams. We dive into his impressive Euro 2024 campaign, even if it wasn’t actually the start of this particular hype train.
Watching the great Spain teams of 2008, 2010 and 2012 was like observing a glittery metronome.
The concept of ‘take the ball, pass the ball’ is synonymous with Barcelona, but it became the football identity of the Spanish men’s national team, too, and it was both beautiful and successful.
Do you know what else is beautiful? Taking the ball, running at defenders, making them panic and stumble as you head towards goal.
Spain didn’t completely abandon their old style as they marched to glory at Euro 2024, but they married that controlled passing game with pace and trickery in wide positions, mainly emanating from the supreme young talents of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams.
Yamal took most of the headlines given he wasn’t even born when Euro 2024 started back in June (OK, that may be an exaggeration) but Williams only turned 22 last week and was one of the best players at the tournament.
The Athletic Club winger is inevitably being linked with a summer transfer, with Barcelona, Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa among those reportedly eyeing up his release clause.
That interest will not just be based on his Euro 2024 performances, though. It may have been a breakout tournament for Williams on the European stage, but he has been wowing fans in La Liga for a while now.
Athletic finished fifth in Spain’s top flight last season and won the Copa del Rey, their first major trophy since 1983-84. And they had Williams to thank for much of that success.
Of players in Europe’s top five leagues in 2023-24, only Florian Wirtz (19), Álex Baena, Kevin De Bruyne and Álex Grimaldo (all 17) recorded more assists than Williams (16) in all competitions, with Williams playing fewer games than three of those four players.
Having scored nine goals in 43 games in 2022-23, Williams chipped in with eight in 37 games last season, meaning the 22-year-old ended the campaign with 24 goal involvements in all competitions; a tally only eight La Liga players could better. His 16 assists was also 12 more than he managed the season before, and he did it in six fewer games.
Even those who only became familiar with his game at the Euros will know he likes to dribble. Of players who featured in at least 15 La Liga matches in 2023-24, only Rayo Vallecano’s Bebé (5.6) completed more of them per 90 minutes than his 3.4.
He also does his fair share of work defensively. Only five players – including his Athletic teammate and older brother Iñaki – won possession more often in the final third in La Liga in 2023-24 than Williams (23), and only 13 forwards in Spain’s top flight made more than his 31 tackles.
It is, of course, a family affair in Bilbao. Nico (122) and 30-year-old Iñaki (421) have 543 appearances for the Basque club between them.
The pair led from the front last season, with Iñaki the only Athletic player to be involved in more open-play shot-ending sequences (157) than his younger brother (123).
Following a stellar 2023-24 campaign domestically, there was plenty of hype around the younger Williams brother heading into Euro 2024.
He already had 14 caps (six starts) for Spain’s senior men’s team, including four appearances at the 2022 World Cup (one start). Euro 2024 was the first run of games where Williams was unleashed as a regular starter by manager Luis de la Fuente, though, and he repaid that faith, starting six of Spain’s seven games in Germany. He was an unused substitute in the final group game against Albania, when La Roja had already won the group.
Part of the reason Spain had the group sewn up after just two games was their 1-0 win over Italy, where Williams showed the world what he can do to even some of the most experienced full-backs.
Poor Giovanni Di Lorenzo must have been considering international retirement after being turned inside out by Williams’ dribbles in Gelsenkirchen.
Williams attempted 11 dribbles that night, putting in five crosses and creating four chances, and those chances don’t even include the dribble followed by a low left-footed cross that was turned into his own net by the unfortunate Riccardo Calafiori (you can’t create a chance for an opponent). Only Jamal Musiala for Germany against Denmark (also 11) attempted as many dribbles in one game at the tournament.
Overall, Williams attempted the most dribbles on record (since 1980) by a Spain player at an edition of the European Championship, with 37 (13 completed) – more than Lobo Carrasco from the 1984 tournament and Yamal from Euro 2024 (both 33).
All of his goal involvements came in the knockout rounds, with his first coming against Georgia in the last 16. First, he found Rodri on the edge of the box to assist his equaliser, before Williams scored in the second half to make it 3-1. He received the ball out on the left as Spain launched a counter-attack, before racing towards the Georgian box, beating the last defender with a lovely feint and slamming his finish into the roof of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s net.
Williams continued to thrive, and his next goal was the opener in the final against England. He came away from Euro 2024 with three goal involvements (two goals, one assist), though that doesn’t do justice to his overall impact. For example, his contribution to Calafiori’s own goal that ultimately won the game for Spain didn’t go down as an assist for Williams.
His goal in Sunday’s final made him the second-youngest player in Euros history to score in the final (22 years, 2 days), only behind Italy’s Pietro Anastasi in 1968 (20y 64d).
Lifting the Henri Delaunay trophy was the least Williams deserved after his summer’s work. Nobody could begrudge him if he considered himself unlucky to miss out to teammates Rodri and Yamal for the UEFA Player of the Tournament and Young Player of the Tournament awards. He did not, however, miss out on being included in Opta’s Team of the Tournament.
Unsurprisingly at this time of year, and following an impressive performance at an international tournament, the rumour mill has gone into overdrive regarding Williams’ future.
He only signed a new contract with Athletic in December 2023, with that deal running to the end of the 2026-27 season. Reports suggest the release clause is relatively modest (around €55 million) but Williams recently indicated he is not looking to leave his boyhood club. He also, however, did not entirely rule anything out.
“I am so happy in Bilbao, I signed a new deal and performed well last season,” he said during the Euros. “I feel at home, but I don’t know what I will do. Nobody can tell you about the future.”
Stories refuse to go away linking Williams to many of Europe’s biggest clubs, including many in the Premier League.
Using our Opta Player Radars, we can look at the players Williams is most similar to. His numbers last season most closely mirrored Milan’s Samuel Chukwueze, while the second closest was Wolves speedster Pedro Neto.
The Portugal international has also garnered a lot of interest from other Premier League sides, having been something of an assist machine for Gary O’Neil’s men last season, particularly in the early part of the campaign. Neto had seven assists to his name after just 10 games in the 2023-24 Premier League season, before sustaining a hamstring injury that kept him out until Christmas.
If Williams can be as productive, with a slightly more modest fee than Wolves reportedly desire for Neto (not accounting for wages, signing-on fee, etc.), the recently-crowned European champion would be a strong option for any team, in England or elsewhere.
The strongest links have been to Barcelona, though, and you can see why that would make sense for the Catalan giants, as Williams would be able to link up with Yamal at club level. Whether Barça would be able to afford him is another matter, but it’s certainly a move you could see happening if they can.
Watching Yamal and Williams in full flight at Euro 2024 was quite a thing.
Getting to see it week-in week-out in La Liga while Barcelona try to compete with Real Madrid’s already ferocious attack that has just seen Kylian Mbappé added to it?
¡Guau!
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