Maintain Nico Williams' athletic goals in Premier League interests
Bilbao, Spain – Ernesto Valverde said his hopeful sports club could withstand Barcelona and Premier League interest and keep Nico Williams for next season.
Williams will lead the Europa League semi-final against Manchester United on Thursday.
This is after a move to Barcelona, Arsenal or Chelsea in the summer. However, Valved is determined to remain the 22-year-old winger.
“Nico is a very important player to us, and that's true,” the sports club head coach said.
“Having the season he has and winning the euro with Spain has a big impact on him. Guess (last summer), but we want him to be athletic for many years. We want him to be with us next season because of course we want the best players.”
Valverde is preparing for a key tie with United, which is even more important as the Europa League final will be held at the home court of the Sports Club on May 21.
He refused to accept the suggestion that his team's favorite improvement despite Manchester United's struggles in the Premier League.
“We need to remember that we are playing Manchester United, one of the largest teams in Europe,” he said.
“They were able to win the Europa League in one minute. I don’t know who is the favorite.
“Marchester United is in an unexpected position. The prize money (the trophy and position in the Champions League next season) is so big that all teams have extra motivation. It's possible that we'll play the finals at our stadium, which is an improvement.”
Williams responded to Valverde's comments and warned his teammates that they could not gently pick up Ruben Amorim's team.
United remained unbeaten in the Europa League this season, but hasn't won the Premier League game for more than a month as they were at the top to 14th place.
“Manchester United always has great players,” Williams said.
“And, no matter what happens in the Prime Minister, I think they have proved that in the Europa League, they are good in the Europa League.
“I think their players are very good and their technical style is very good, they have a great coach. We will do our best and hope we get the win and hope everything goes well.”
When asked about his future, Williams said his focus was entirely on the upcoming game.
“I don't want to go beyond that,” he said. “I always want to compete in Europe and feel important. I'm very happy here.”