Barcelona and La Liga rivals reach agreement over transfer of 22-year-old forward: Reports
Barcelona have reached an agreement with La Liga rivals Girona, with the transfer of Pau Victor now underway. The 22-year-old forward spent the last season with the Blaugrana's youth division on loan, and his spell was impressive enough to warrant a permanent deal.
Victor is a versatile forward who has often played across the available positions in the final third. Last season, he did not play a single game for the Blaugrana first team, getting on the bench in five games. For Barca Atleti, he started every single Primera Federacion game he played in, scoring 18 goals in 35 games.
According to journalist Nil Sola (via Barca Universal), the move to get Victor will see him return to Camp Nou for the first team. It is set to cost the Blaugrana a little over €3 million to sign their man, but it would have been the exact amount if they had activated a clause to make his loan permanent.
There is no guarantee that Victor will get consistent playing time next season, especially with players like Robert Lewandowski in the starting lineup. However, if others like Vitor Roque opt to go elsewhere for more gametime, the 22-year-old could see more minutes than expected.
Ernesto Valverde speaks about future of Barcelona target
Aside from Pau Victor, Barcelona have a number of potential transfer targets, of which Nico Williams sits at the very top of the list. Their interest in the 22-year-old winger has hardly been a secret, only intensifying after he helped Spain win Euro 2024.
Last season, he led the line for Athletic Club Bilbao brilliantly, scoring eight goals and providing 19 assists in 37 games across all competitions. However, Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde has spoken about Nico Williams' future, dashing Barcelona's hopes.
He said to reporters (via Barca Blaugranes):
“We are counting on him to return to training, he is happy with us and we are happy with him. We aspire to have the best players and that the players want to be with us. It is a year with a lot of excitement for us. We have a very good team and we aspire to improve it. This is also the case with Unai, Inaki…
“We want to compete in all tournaments. It has been shown that you can be one of the best by being a player for teams like Real, Athletic. You can have a great year. It is a year in which we have many challenges ahead. I am sure he loves what lies ahead, I see him well and happy.”
Barcelona will still hope they can get Nico Williams, with the Blugrana reportedly working to agree terms with the forward's representatives.