Athletic Bilbao transfers, rumours, and updates live: Club Confident in Retaining Nico Williams

Athletic Bilbao Transfer Analysis and Overview 2024

Athletic Bilbao is one of the traditional giants of Spanish football. The Basque side is ever present in La Liga and has never been relegated since the first division was formed in Spain. They hold this record proudly alongside Spain’s two biggest sides Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The club that takes pride in its Basque history has English roots during its formation. Initially formed by British industrialists and Spanish students returning from England as Club Bizcaya, they went on with many names before finally settling as Atheltic Bilbao in 1941.

Athletic Bilbao was the home of the famed Spanish striker Rafael Moreno Aranzadi known as the famous Pichichi. He was monumental during the early days of the club. They also have their English coaches like Fred Pentland to thank for as they were monumental in the formation of La Liga. Pentland helped Bilbao dominate the league and cups in their early days in the 1930s. They also had periods of dominance in the 1940s and 50s. Javier Clemente was the last significant coach as the club enjoyed another renaissance in the early 1980s.

Bilbao won the league eight times and were the record Copa Del Rey holders with 24 titles till 2009 as Barcelona surpassed them. Bilbao again lifted another Copa Del Rey in 2024 and made it 25 titles to prove their turn in fortunes.

Ever since then the club failed to reach the highs of the past and troubles continued into the 2000s. However, with a new and exciting crop of Basque players coming through, they are on the up once again. The club has recorded a strong revenue of €137,664,000 and recorded a profit of over €3 million bouncing back from losses after a couple of years.

Athletic Club Transfers Club Performance History

Athletic Club Bilbao were always famous for their attackers. They were the home of the legendary striker Pichichi and always thrived on forming the formidable “Attacks”. Primera delantera histórica known as the First Historic Attack saw them field Bata, Lafuente and Iraragorri.

Bilbao were always on the hunt for young players with local affiliations. They scouted for talented players from the Basque county and its surroundings. Hence, they recruited Telmo Zarra who was part of the famed Second Historic Attack. Zarra went on to become the highest Spanish goal scorer in the history of the league.

He fired them to multiple league titles. Zarra was part of Segunda delantera histórica (The Second Attack) along with Jose Luis Panizo,Agustin Gainz and Rafa Iriondo. The strong foundations laid by these legendary players resulted in the formation of Atheltic Bilbao and their transfer policies.

Athletic Bilbao Transfer Strategy and Philosophy 

Athletic Bilbao has an unwritten rule of sorts when it comes to transfer strategy. Bilbao fielded Englishmen in the Copa Del Rey final in 1911 which led to controversy. Real Sociedad, their local rivals accused them of having an unfair advantage. Ever since then, Bilbao adhered to a policy of recruiting only Basque-based players.

They came up with a motto “Con Cantera y afición, no hace falta importación” which translates to “with home-grown talent and local support, there’s no need for imports” in English. Having dominated the 1920s and 30s with this policy, this became the transfer philosophy and strategy of Atheltic Bilbao.

The players recruited had to meet a few key criteria such as being born in Basque and its surrounding counties of Biscay and Navarro. They should have either learned their game at the Basque county clubs or should have had some sort of Basque ancestry to represent them. This strong policy was linked to Basque nationalism.

The philosophy gave rise to success as they recruited world-beaters in previous eras. The historic First and Second attacks were formed courtesy of these policies. This also led to strong criticisms as some felt that Athletic Bilbao’s policies were discriminatory.

Although these rules were never written into the club policies, a key change was made in 2008 that relaxed some of these rules. It made it easier for the club to recruit different players with mixed heritages but having some essence of Basque County in them.

Athletic Bilbao 2024 Challenges & Criticism

Athletic Bilbao thrived in the 20^th century due to their policies. They were praised for promoting local talent and using a team of 11 villagers to win league titles and cups. But as the game went global, the market expanded and international audiences started watching the games, it gave rise to criticism. The policy of signing only Basque players were met with stances such as discrimination against other region players and especially players of other races and heritages.

Due to the policies they had, Atheltic Bilbao were one of the last teams to field a Black player in the Spanish league. However, as they relaxed the rules it allowed players of any heritage to represent the club as long as they were born in and around Basque County.

Hence Jonas Ramalho became the first black player to represent them in the league in 2011. Other players of ethnic minorities and of colour always criticized the club that it was a difficult place to make a mark.

There was some controversy with these rules as well as Bilbao often recruited players of French heritage such as Aymeric Laporte and Antoine Griezmann. They were accused of bending the rules to favour their cause.

It was not until 2015 that the club was accepted universally as Inaki Willaims became the first black player to score for Atheltic Bilbao. Inaki along with his brother Nico born to Ghanaian parents in Basque County are a mainstay of the team now. Now more and more players of colour are being recruited keeping in line with Basque heritage to promote the club.

Athletic Bilbao’s Most Expensive Transfers

Traditionally known for recruiting players only from Basque County and its surroundings, Atheltic Bilbao are not known for splashing money around. Their philosophy sees them recruit young players from the region or rival clubs and train them in their academies before promoting them to the senior teams. Very rarely, they go for odd and flashy transfers and recruit from bigger clubs.

Also, the disparity in the revenue in La Liga has helped Bilbao maintain their policies. When we take a look at the top 5 expensive transfers for Athletic Bilbao, we only see Spaniards being recruited. Yes, you might have guessed their heritages correctly as well.

Coming first as the most expensive recruit in their history is the centre-back Inigo Martinez. The leader of the backline was brought in for a club record €32 million from Real Sociedad in January 2018. After marshalling the back line of Bilbao for 5 years, Martinez left on a free transfer to Barcelona in 2023.

It was followed up by signing Yuri Berchiche, the left-back from PSG  for €24 million in the summer of 2018. The defender has Basque heritage and even Algerian descent as well, he pledged his loyalty to the Spanish national team before signing for Bilbao.

The third in the list is a winger of Guniea-Bissau descent. Alvaro Djalo, born in Madrid had his footballing education in Bilbao’s local club of Begona. This fast-tracked his move to Bilbao from the Portuguese club Braga for €15 million this summer.

Rounding up the list of the top 5 expensive signings in their history are the moves of Alex Berenguer and Roberto Rios for €12 million each. What’s interesting is Berenguer cost that amount in 2020 and Rios was worth that all the way back in 1997. It was a Spanish record fee paid by Bilbao to rivals Real Betis at that time.

Athletic Bilbao transfer new signings 2024/25

Athletic Bilbao are prudent as ever in the transfer market. They do not go out and try to spend exorbitant fees looking to replace players. As Iker Muniain left the club on a free transfer, he was replaced in the form of Alvaro Djalo.

The squad that finished 5^th in the league had season had no holes to fill and is well-rounded. So a couple of squad signings in Unai Nunez and Andoni Gorosable were done to increase the depth in defence.

Athletic Bilbao transfer outgoings 2024/25

The transfer window was a tough time for Athletic Bilbao as they bid goodbye to a lot of seasoned campaigners. Firstly, Raul Garcia retired from professional football and Iker Muniain left as a free agent.  They were however able to hold onto Nico Williams as they priced rivals Barcelona out of a move.

Forward Asier Villalibre was sold to Deportivo Alaves for a meagre amount of €1 million. Imanol Garcia was the only other to fetch a transfer fee of €500 thousand. The other squad players left on free transfers and youngsters were sent on loans.

Top signings for Athletic Bilbao in 2024/25

All the signings made by the Atheltic Club were supposed to boost the squad and provide options in cup competitions. However, Andoni Gorosable impressed the most when given the opportunity to start. He was deployed as the right-back and did his duties well to help his side.

Worst signings for Athletic Bilbao in 2024/25

Although it is unfair to single out the new signings in the limited opportunities they have got, Djalo unfortunately is the pick here. He was expected to make the right-wing spot his own. But despite getting 14 appearances to his name, the winger only has one goal. Inaki Williams’ has taken the starting spot from him on an unfamiliar right wing. Djalo has to fight and score some goals to win his place back.

Athletic Bilbao transfers spend till now

Bilbao has posted a profit in the 23/24 season after a couple of seasons. Despite that, they were in a better position to spend on transfers. According to the club policy, they have not overspent like other teams. They spent €15 million on incomings and received €1.5 million via outgoings. This leaves them with a negative net spend of €13.5 million. Bilbao will be hoping to cover this from their earnings this season. They would be hoping to make many millions once they sell Nico Williams in the future.