One Liverpool-linked winger has made a 12-word declaration regarding his future, amid considerable transfer speculation.

Last month, 90min reported that the Reds were among four Premier League clubs monitoring Nico Williams, who’d also been attracting interest from Aston Villa, Arsenal and Tottenham.

The 21-year-old’s current contract at Athletic Bilbao expires next June, thus fuelling rumours of a possible exit, but the Spain international has now reaffirmed his commitment to the LaLiga outfit.

In quotes shared by Fabrizio Romano on X, the forward stated: “I’m happy here in Bilbao. Athletic fans can be relaxed, no worries.”

Nico Williams on his contract due to expire in June 2024: “I’m happy here in Bilbao”.

“Athletic fans can be relaxed, no worries”. pic.twitter.com/zrDqoFxOr8

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 28, 2023

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Although Williams has played chiefly as a left winger this season, he’s frequently been deployed on the right flank (Transfermarkt), and Liverpool may possibly have been looking at him as a long-term successor to Mo Salah, about whom rumours of a move to Saudi Arabia continue to circulate.

The Athletic Bilbao forward is famed for his lightning pace, clocking the second-fastest sprint speed at the 2022 World Cup when he reached an eye-watering 35.59 km/hr (Sportskeeda).

The 21-year-old has a decent tally of eight goal contributions in 11 appearances so far this term, although seven of those have been assists (Transfermarkt), so he could certainly improve when it comes to finding the net himself.

Williams appears to be committed to his current club, even if that hasn’t yet manifested itself in the form of a new contract, so speculation over his future could continue to abound until such time as he puts pen to paper.

That said, Liverpool are serious about trying to bring him to the Premier League, they may need to woo him quickly, or else risk seeing him dash the hopes of his myriad suitors by signing fresh terms at San Mames.

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Liverpool are reportedly among four Premier League clubs eyeing up a potential swoop for a lightning-quick winger who could be available on a free transfer next year.

According to 90min, the Reds are joined by Aston Villa, Arsenal and Tottenham in showing an interest in Nico Williams, whose contract at Athletic Bilbao expires in June 2024, with no sign of him extending that deal as of yet.

The LaLiga club are reportedly confident that the 21-year-old will eventually agree to stay put before he becomes a free agent in eight months’ time, but so long as the two parties are at an impasse, prospective suitors are set to continue circling for the Spain international.

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Capable of playing on either flank in a front three, Williams is renowned for his searing pace, having recorded the second-fastest sprint speed at last year’s World Cup when he was clocked at 35.59 km/hr (Sportskeeda).

He’s already surpassed 100 senior appearances between club and international level, scoring 14 goals (Transfermarkt), while his teammate and older brother Inaki spoke of how the 21-year-old is in ‘incredible shape’ (Sports World Ghana).

Liverpool are currently blessed with an abundance of riches in attack, although they might see tremendous value in a potential swoop for the Spain winger.

To get a player valued at €80m (£69.6m) by CIES Football Observatory for free would be a magnificent coup, while the Reds could offer him a substantial increase on his current weekly wage of £58.5k and still comfortably keep it within their existing pay structure (Capology).

Expect the Anfield hierarchy to keep a close watch on what happens with Williams’ contract situation in Bilbao – this has the potential to be an extremely shrewd pickup if he ultimately becomes available on a free transfer.

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According to reports from Spain, Liverpool are lurking in the race to sign a gifted young winger for free in January.

AS have claimed that the Reds – along with Aston Villa and Barcelona – are ‘on the prowl’ for Nico Williams, whose current deal at Athletic Bilbao is set to expire next June.

That means the 21-year-old could sign a pre-contract with a club outside LaLiga from the beginning of 2024, although his employers are determined to keep hold of him beyond that point.

San Mames chief Jon Uriarte is adamant that the forward is ‘very happy’ in the Basque region and that both sides are ‘working hard’ to try and reach an agreement over new terms.

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Williams currently earns just under £58,000 per week in Bilbao (Capology), which doesn’t seem a massive high wage for someone who was labelled a ‘true winger’ by his former Spain coach Luis Enrique and a ‘difference maker’ by international teammate Rodri (Sportstar).

The youngster has already supplied four assists in as many LaLiga matches in the early weeks of the campaign, with 23 goal contributions in 89 senior appearances for Athletic thus far (Transfermarkt).

He has played on the left flank in recent games but is primarily a right winger, something that Liverpool could be seeking next year if they’re ultimately unable to prevent Mo Salah from leaving, should Al-Ittihad push strongly for the Egyptian once more in the next few months.

Williams excels at running with the ball into dangerous areas of the pitch, with his match average of 5.73 progressive carries placing him in the top 6% of positional peers across Europe’s five main leagues over the past year (FBref).

He carries a market value of €21.3m (£18.3m) by Football Transfers but Athletic would surely demand far more than that if they were to sell him.

To pick up a 21-year-old right winger for free, particularly one with such a capability for getting fans off their seats, would be exceptional business by Liverpool if they were to pull it off – depending on what happens with his contact situation in Bilbao between now and January.

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Fabrizio Romano has confirmed the departure of teenage attacker Elijah Gift from Liverpool to LaLiga outfit Athletic Bilbao, who the 17-year-old has joined on a five-year contract.

In his CaughtOffside Substack column on Monday morning, the Italian transfer reporter stated: “Deal sealed, completed. Athletic Club sign Liverpool 2006-born forward Elijah Gift on permanent deal. A medical has been successfully completed, and he’s signed a deal until June 2028.”

It brings an end to the Spanish club’s lengthy pursuit of the winger, with whom they’d been linked since May, when talks were being held over a prospective £1m move (The Athletic).

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Capable of operating on either wing, Gift never made a first-team appearance for Liverpool but had made an impact at under-18 level, with six goal contributions in 20 games (Transfermarkt).

As outlined previously by James Pearce for The Athletic, the Reds were hoping not to lose the 17-year-old, who had made a strong impression in the underage ranks last season, but also didn’t want to block his departure due to the level of competition in the wide attacking areas.

The Spanish younger has stood out for his pace and dribbling ability in attack, along with a penchant for cutting inside onto his left foot, while he’s also displayed a willingness to track back and help out his team defensively (premierleaguenewsnow.com).

He’s a player who could potentially have worked his way to the fringes of senior squad involvement in 2023/24 had he remained at Liverpool and continued his upward trajectory, but we wish him well with his move to Athletic Bilbao and for the rest of his career.

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Liverpool are ready for a hectic summer transfer window with several players expected to both join and leave the club and now it seems that one early piece of business is poised to be completed.

As reported by The Athletic: ‘Young Liverpool attacker Elijah Gift is set to join Athletic Bilbao this summer.

‘Talks between the clubs are at an advanced stage with the fee understood to be around £1million’.

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One of our hottest prospects within the youth sides in recent years, Elijah Gift has been in the academy since Under-12 level when he signed from Huddersfield and looked set to have a positive career in red.

However, one key stumbling block for his progression may well have been the signing of Ben Doak last summer, who looks set to have a key part to play in Jurgen Klopp’s Europa League campaign next year.

Now his 16-year-old teammate, who was born in Spain, looks set to head to Athletic Bilbao in the hope of a clearer pathway for first-team minutes in the coming years.

This should add further strength to the belief that our Scottish starlet is the real deal and that he will go on to have a solid career on Merseyside, as he matures into a long-term attacking option.

All that’s left to say here would be that we wish the teenager with joint Spanish and Cuban citizenship all the best and that he can go on to have a good career, even if it is away from Kirkby.

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One reported Liverpool transfer target has been implored to forget about possibly joining the Reds and remain with his current club instead.

This week, Spanish outlet AS reported of the Merseysiders’ interest in Nico Williams, but one of the 20-year-old’s Athletic Bilbao teammates has urged him to stay with the LaLiga outfit.

Gorka Guruzeta told AS (via El Desmarque): “Nico has many more chances to play in any club because we already know the level he has.”

The 26-year-old continued: “He is aware of what he has here and what may be [elsewhere] in every way – pressure, titles, salary… Each [player] has to see what he wants in his life. For me, I hope he continues [with Bilbao], because we can help [him] a lot with everything.”

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Williams’ older brother Inaki is also at the club, and last year he said of his younger sibling (via Mundo Deportivo): “In one-on-ones, he is practically unstoppable…He is a talent, a rough diamond that needs to be polished.”

The statistics back up the former comment. As per FBref, the youngster ranks among the top 6% of wingers in Europe’s five main leagues for progressive carries (5.25 per game) and top 11% for successful take-ons (2.29 per game) over the past 12 months.

Both of those averages exceed every current player at Liverpool, with Ben Doak (3.33) and Luis Diaz (2.06) topping those respective metrics among Jurgen Klopp’s squad per 90 minutes (FBref).

Primarily a right winger but occasionally featuring on the other flank, Williams has seven goals and six assists from 33 appearances so far this season (Transfermarkt).

It’s a decent if unspectacular hit rate, but his superb dribbling ability could make him a hugely exciting player to watch.

Also, while Liverpool have an abundance of forwards, Mo Salah is the only natural right winger, so Williams could add much-needed depth in that position if he were to ignore Guruzeta’s plea and come to Anfield.

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Liverpool are set to announce two fresh pre-season friendlies against La Liga sides Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna.

That’s according to the reputable Paul Gorst, who in his report for the Echo states both fixtures will be played at Anfield – and that the club hope to have a crowd in attendance to iron out any potential problems ahead of the start of the new Premier League season.

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Liverpool are currently posted up at their pre-season training camp in Austria, where they will remain for the duration of July.

The Echo states the games against Bilbao and Osasuna are expected to be played on consecutive days, and muse they could take place on the weekend of August 9 – before travelling to Carrow Road the following week.

Liverpool have four clashes forthcoming, with 30-minute fixtures against Wacker Innsbruck Stuttgart up first this coming Tuesday.

Three days later, the Reds will face off against Mainz at the Greisbergers Betten-Arena in Grodig in a typical 90-minute match, where 3,500 people are permitted to spectate.

Liverpool will then round things off with a clash with Hertha Berlin at the Tivoli Stadium in Innsbruck on July 29, where a 15,000 strong crowd will be allowed to attend.

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The Reds are apparently considering a move for pacy Athletic Bilbao forward Iñaki Williams according to ESPN FC. Jürgen Klopp is seeking to reinforce his options in attack and could make a £77m move.

Bilbao-born Williams signed a collosal contract renewal with the La Liga side in January of 2018, which AS reports includes a release clause of €80m that will progressively rise until €108m.

There is competition for the 24-year-old, however, with Atlético Madrid keen to replace Antoine Griezmann, but they might have been put off by the mammoth amount they would have to fork out.

Williams is capable of playing on either wing as well as operating as a centre-forward. His versatility certainly fits the bill for the profile of player Klopp is after.

His fluid attacking mentality and searing pace would make him a good fit for the German’s turbo-charged philosophy.

This season saw the young attacker score 15 goals in all competitions as Bilbao ended the campaign in eigth position in La Liga.

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ESPN FC are not always amazingly reliable, but we have been heavily linked with Williams in the past.

As talkSPORT reported after puttting pen to paper at Bilbao last year, the Reds’ admiration of the young attacker was never allowed to develop into anything more concrete.

And, even at the start of 2016, The Guardian reported Williams was on the radar of the Reds.

Despite commiting his long-term career to Los Leones, Williams has yet to make a decision on his current future at the club with his lucrative deal at the Basque side running until 2025.

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Liverpool are leading the way in world football when it comes to data analytics.

That’s according to Athletic Bilbao director of football Ignacio Palacios-Huerta, who is also a professor at the London School of Economics.

“There is clear leadership by one club: Liverpool. They have a group of four or five PhDs in maths and physics, and they know football,” he said.

The quotes from a lengthy piece in the Financial Times, which actually focusses on Barcelona’s ‘innovation hub’ and their multi-million euro attempts for marginal gains by employing hundreds of analysts – which includes scouting, current player and opposition analysis – amongst other things.

Liverpool are referenced as the benchmark though, which is a huge testament to FSG and the manner in which they’ve recruited.

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Not only did they get Jurgen Klopp and his backroom staff in, but they saw something in Michael Edwards and the relevance of what was previously described as our ‘transfer committee’.

Brendan Rodgers couldn’t work with one, but the fact Klopp has embraced it and got incredible rewards from working as part of a transfer team shows that perhaps the Northern Irishman’s ego was part of the problem.

In the past few years, we’ve acquired Sadio Mane, Gini Wijnaldum, Mo Salah, Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Fabinho and countless others by analysing statistics, attributes and using more modern scouting methods – while also focussing on the personality, age and style of the player in regard to our footballing philosophy.

If we can secure the Premier League title this year – this will be a huge part of the reason.

The post Financial Times report describes LFC as ‘world leaders’ in key aspect of modern football appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Liverpool are yet again looking to use the Bosman market next summer…

In recent years we’ve secured James Milner and Joel Matip via the ruling and both are important members of the first-team squad today.

Already this season we’ve been linked to Adrien Rabiot, who is out of contract with PSG at the end this campaign, according to ESPN.

And now Marca are claiming we’ve spoken to Athletic Bilbao forward Iker Muniain, whose deal with his boyhood club expires in 2019 as well.

The Bosman law states that the player can legally pen terms with us on January 1 and would be officially announced next summer.

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Muniain has been around for almost a decade, having broken onto the scene as a 16-year-old prodigy. He only has 51 goals for Bilbao in that time, but predominantly plays from the left-wing, but has actually been used as a central midfielder this season.

We’d suggest he could be a natural replacement for Divock Origi as a backup attacker. The Belgian hasn’t played a minute of first-team football this season and will surely either depart in January or at the end of the season.

Dom Solanke is a long-term option, but Origi is very unlikely to make the grade and has been recently linked to Wolves in the Express.

The post Liverpool pounce: Reds approach Bosman striker [25] as likely Origi replacement appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Ben Woodburn has put his superb strike against Athletic Bilbao down to the hard work he has been putting in on the training ground.

The Welshman put his team 2-1 up just before the hour mark in Saturday’s friendly in Dublin, producing a perfect touch to beat two defenders before striking home with his left foot from the edge of the box.

It served as yet another glimpse of the natural talent that has seen him rated so highly amongst those close to the club’s youth setup.

Discussing his finish, the teenager told Liverpoolfc.com: “It came to me on the edge of the box. I took a touch and just hit it on my left foot. Luckily it went in.”

“I’ve been practising a little bit on my left foot and it worked. Recently, I’ve been hitting them a lot cleaner. When you see a player dive in, you think ‘I’ll shift it and have a quick shot.’”

“I’m happy with how the pre-season has gone. Hopefully I can kick on in the season as well. [My target is] to keep improving and get games where I can.”

Woodburn enjoyed a productive pre-season with the Reds, making notable progress in his development and showing signs of adapting to his slightly deeper midfield role.

The 17-year-old will now be looking to build on his breakthrough 2016/2017 campaign, in which he was handed a number of first team opportunities by Jurgen Klopp.

To already be showcasing his technical ability and playing with such self-belief bodes well for a young man who is only going to improve, not to mention grow in stature and become physically stronger.

The foundations are in place for him to continue dominating in the U23s team, as well as presenting himself as a viable option for Klopp to make use of during what promises to be a busy and gruelling 2017/2018 season.

It just so happens that he finds himself under the perfect manager to fulfil his potential.

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Jurgen Klopp insists there will always be opportunities for young prospects in his team after another noteworthy contribution from Ben Woodburn.

The German’s side rounded off their pre-season in style on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao, in which Woodburn produced a moment of fine individual brilliance to restore the lead for his team.

Liverpool’s youngest ever goal scorer put the Reds 2-1 up just before the hour mark when he fired home from the edge of the box after some excellent build up play from Dominic Solanke.

It served as a welcomed reminder of the teenager’s sheer natural ability as his perfect touch fooled two defenders and opened the space for him to direct a left-footed strike beyond the Bilbao goalkeeper.

Discussing the 17-year-old’s efforts, Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com: “For a young player, in my team there will always be space, but it’s about the player. You saw in the first five or 10 minutes, Ben struggled.”

“It’s been a hard pre-season for him, he’s still only 17, turns 18 in October, so we try to keep him out as much as possible because we have to treat him like a 17-year-old boy.”

“He’s doing really well and everybody can see his skills, but he struggled in the beginning [today], then he changed the game with a nice goal and he was in the game and played really well. That’s how it is – young players have these ups and downs.”

Woodburn enjoyed a breakthrough 2016/2017 season as he was handed a number of first team opportunities thanks to his standout performances for the U23s.

He is expected to build on that over the next year with the club’s busy schedule likely to ensure he earns more minutes in cup competitions and also potentially in the Premier League.

To be playing with so much confidence at this stage bodes well for a young man who still has plenty of room to develop, both physically and tactically.

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Liverpool have long been linked to Athletic Bilbao attacker Inaki Williams and the 22-year-old Spaniard is aware and flattered by our interest.

He’s a talented inside forward, capable of playing wide or up top and would definitely add the kind of speed and dynamism to Liverpool’s squad which currently only Sadio Mane does.

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Asked by Sportium (translated by IBT) about reported interest from Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund, Williams replied: “A lot of news about that coming but I’m calm. If they are looking at me it’s because I’m doing things right. I am privileged. If one day I have to leave I will be very honest with Athletic. They have given me everything. I do not want to make a change. Staying at Athletic is my first choice right now.

“It is always good that they speak well about you. Those things do not distract me. I give my best every time I play. Defending the Athletic shirt is an honour. There is a lot of history behind it. We are one of the great clubs in Europe.”

In terms of attributes, Williams reminds us of Divock Origi in many ways. He’s quick, strong and skilful – but his decision making (or lack of) suggests he’s still raw. This term, he’s been deployed mainly on the right-wing, scoring four goals in all competitions and registering five assists – a fairly modest return.

For this reason, there’s no way we should be meeting his €50m release clause – which was put into his most recent contract – signed until 2021.

If were going to break our record transfer fee, it should be a player who will immediately boost our starting XI and there’s no guarantee Williams would do that.

Besides, Klopp is much more keen on Julian Brandt, Bayer Leverkusen’s talented German winger – and we expect Liverpool to try and sign the 20-year-old rather than Bilbao’s Spaniard.

The post €50m forward ‘privileged’ by Liverpool’s interest appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

It’s October, but the transfer rumour mill is still churning…

Spanish outlet Don Balon have claimed today that Jurgen Klopp and Ronald Koeman are both interested in Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams – who has a €50m release clause.

Their report says that both Merseyside clubs are eyeing up the Spanish forward who’s just 22 and scored 13 goals in all competitions last term. This season though he’s yet to find the back of the net and is not an automatic starter, either.

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Our problem with the story is that if the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi can’t get in Liverpool’s team right now, there’s no real room for Williams in the squad. Danny Ings can’t even make the bench, and the kind of money it would require to tempt the forward is extortionate.

We’d be surprised if Klopp made any major additions in January. Perhaps we’ll tempt a few youngsters, but barring an injury crisis – the German is happy with his current options.

This is just the way we like it.

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Thanks to @thisistyson for sharing this.

From Bilbao it is Jose Exteberria’s testimonial;

He did give a group of local kids the opportunity to play against Athletic Bilbao’s first team,
lucky kids.

Carra are you watching? Forget the blue noses, give the local Red kids a chance :-)

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