Nico Williams, Athletic winger and new European champion with the Spanish National Team, is close to FC Barcelona. The Barcelona club is trying to get one of the trendy players; undoubtedly, one of the top wingers right now. What would Nico Williams bring to Barça? On a sensory level, it’s clear: skill, dribbling, depth, and energy. But, looking at the stats, here’s what the data shows.
If Barça signs Nico, the Catalan team will add the second-best dribbler in the League championship. In Spain, only Vinicius dribbles more than the winger born in Pamplona. Nico averages 10.6 attempted dribbles and 5.32 successful dribbles per 90 minutes. Only Vinicius is ahead, with 11.51 dribbles and 5.64 completed dribbles, respectively.
In top leagues, Milan, Tottenham, Madrid, PSG, Bayern, and Nice are the only teams that attempt more dribbles per game than Barça. Nico’s arrival would further enhance Hansi Flick’s team.
In the recent Euro Cup held in Germany, Nico Williams attempted the most dribbles, 52, with Lamine Yamal coming in second with 50. If the signing goes through, Barça would have two dynamic wingers at their disposal, although Nico still needs to improve his efficiency: Nico completed 22 out of those 52 dribble attempts in Germany, placing him as the ninth player in the tournament in successful dribbles. Lamine completed 29 out of 50.
How well do Nico and Lamine connect on the field?
Friends and Tik Tok buddies, they also seek each other on the pitch, despite playing on opposite sides. Nico passed to Lamine 18 times and Lamine passed to Nico 16 times. Lamine is the fourth highest recipient of passes from Nico, who connected more with Cucurella, Fabián, and Morata, while Nico is also the fourth highest recipient of passes from the young Barça player, who linked up more with Carvajal, Olmo, and Fabián.
Dribbling isn’t just about getting past your opponent. Nico, besides trying to outmaneuver the defender from the opposing team, is also known as one of the top centering players in the national League championship. The player from Navarre has successfully made 49 good crosses out of 124 attempts. He ranked second in successful crosses among wingers, just behind Savinho who had one more. Nico is the second-highest assistant in Primera, with 11 assists on goals. Only Baena from Villarreal had more assists, with 14. Among wingers, Nico has served more than anyone else. It’s no surprise since he is the most successful at scoring balls into the area among players in his position.
Nico’s main focus is scoring goals. The red and white team scored five goals in the 23-24 League, with one more than the previous season. Nico Williams isn’t the most precise when it comes to scoring, as only 25% of his shots on goal actually end up in the net, which is 5 goals out of 20 shots on target. His scoring rate is below 0.20 goals per 90 minutes. If he improves in this area, Nico could become one of the most dangerous attackers in the world.
This content has been translated and adapted from the Spanish version of the digital newspaper
