Athletic Club have announced highly rated centre-back Unai Nunez has signed a new six-year deal running until June 2023.
Nunez has enjoyed a stellar start to his Athletic Club career and his early season form has already put him on Barcelona’s radar.
Ernesto Valverde, who managed Athletic Club last season, is reportedly an admirer of the 20-year-old as he seeks to revitalise Barcelona’s aging defence.
Barcelona failed to replace Jeremy Mathieu over the summer and may now have to sign at least two centre-backs with Javier Mascherano tipped to leave at the end of the season.
The La Liga giants are tipped to trigger their first refusal to sign Palmeiras defender Yerry Mina either in January or at the end of the season, but Nunez is reportedly another target.
However, Athletic Club have at least secured some value in the youngster after including a €30m (£26.4m) release clause in his new long-term deal.
Nunez has featured in every minute of league action for Athletic Club this season and is their highest rated player (5+ starts) with a 7.12 rating.
Not only that, but of players aged 21 and under in Europe’s top five leagues, only two players have made more clearances than the Athletic defender (52).
