Terzic Compares Laporte Rumours to Last Summer’s Nico Williams Saga

Transfer speculation connecting FC Barcelona to Athletic Club players has become something of a recurring summer fixture, Speaking after Athletic’s 0-2 preseason victory over Sestao River on 23 July, new head coach Edin Terzic was asked directly about reported Blaugrana interest in Aymeric Laporte – and chose to frame it as little more than a rerun of a familiar script.

Terzic dismissed the noise with a pointed reference to last summer’s protracted Nico Williams saga. The German coach said the Laporte story was not a new one – perhaps just told with a different name attached – before moving the conversation swiftly back to his desire to have all three of Athletic’s World Cup winners back in training.

“Creo que no es una historia nueva, quizás con otro nombre. Tengo muchas ganas de que todos estos jugadores regresen y empiecen a trabajar con nosotros.”

Terzic was referring, without elaborating, to the episode last season in which Barcelona’s pursuit of Nico Williams dominated Athletic’s preseason coverage The implication was clear: he has seen this kind of distraction before and intends to give it the same amount of attention.

Unai Simón, Aymeric Laporte, and Nico Williams are world champions, and Terzic acknowledged the distinction of having three world champions in his squad, describing it as something the club should be proud of. He also revealed that he had maintained contact with all three during the tournament, keen to establish a working relationship before they return to preseason in August. His comments on Laporte’s future at the club, however, stopped well short of an explicit statement that the centre-back is untransferable – the substance was in the tone, not the declaration.

From Barcelona’s side, when assessing how seriously to treat the speculation.

The broader pattern of Athletic Club players attracting Blaugrana interest – a dynamic that has played out in different forms

Terzic separately declined to address the preseason absences of Julen Agirrezabala and Mikel Vesga – the only two fit squad members yet to receive minutes across three friendly fixtures – saying only that individual situations are communicated directly to the players involved, not through the press. Athletic open their competitive season in approximately one month.