Nico Williams: the champion worth every penny

SCOUTED50 is our collection of the fifty young talents we believe are best positioned to break into the mainstream during 2023/24. Nico Williams did not feature, as we considered him already broken out. But we want to write about him anyway. So this is SCOUTED50(+1). Read the full list here.

At a big international tournament, players have a unique stage to announce themselves.

At EURO 2024, Nico Williams hasn't announced himself. He's just added some oomph. He’s kicked down a couple of doors, metaphorically cracked a few full-backs’ skulls, and left trails of fire along his sprints in transition.

I went into the Italy-Spain match hoping my Azzurri could announce themselves as contenders to go back-to-back. Halfway through the half, every time I saw Williams run at Di Lorenzo, all I could do was scream at the TV:

Whenever Williams has received the ball at this tournament, one can’t help, as an opposition fan, but feel an impending sense of fear and existential dread.

When watching as a neutral though, Williams has brought a nice helping of verve and eccentricity — alongside Lamine Yamal, of course — to a Spanish side that had become a little stale in the decade of international tournaments post-EURO 2012.

While Nico’s reputation belies his ability — almost a natural synergy for players developed in the unique structure of Athletic Club — those two things are now starting to marry. Everyone wants a Nico Williams in their team.

Heck, even Pedri has spent this week gushing over his team-mate in press conferences, clearly with the express intent to woo him to Barcelona. That’s always easier said than done for Athletic Club’s notoriously loyal Basque prodigies.

Onto the fun stuff. If, unlike his older brother Iñaki, Williams Jr. deems to ever leave Bilbao…just how good is he? And to what heights can he ascend?

Let’s find out.

In this profile:

• He’s fast — but just how fast, exactly?
• The run types that make him a triple-threat attacker
• Assessing the details of his playmaking abilities
• Unlocking an untapped font of finishes and goals
• Is he worth the monster wage package?