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Iñaki Williams: “I want to help both sides”

Iñaki Williams: “I want to help both sides”

Our no.9 spoke to the press ahead of a possible call-up to the Ghana national team for the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on January 13

Iñaki Williams is confident his potential Africa Cup of Nations duties with Ghana won't be too much of a hinderance to his Athletic Club teammates while reiterating his hope the Ghana Football Association will let him play in the LaLiga fixture against Sevilla FC on January 4.

The competition begins on January 13 and Ghana have a pre-tournament training camp starting on the 2nd.

"It's a decision that's not up to me," Iñaki said at a press conference on Friday morning. "I would like to stay here until the last possible moment and help my teammates against Sevilla, but nothing is certain yet.


"I want to help both sides. The Club and the Ghana Football Association are in contact and have a good understanding. I owe everything to Athletic and hope to be able to help but I still have to wait a couple more days to know the final decision."

The striker admitted playing at AFCON will be an exciting moment for him and his family, admitting his ultimate ambition is "to go as far as possible" with Ghana.

He said: "I can't wait to play. This is special for me and my family. My goal is to win it. There's a lot of passion for football in Ghana and expectations around this team. I'm going to try and do my best."

If Iñaki is called up, he is certain his teammates will be able to step up and deal with his absence, pointing to the squad's strength in depth.

"My absence might cause some difficulties as it's true we're in a sweet moment and I'm doing well, scoring goals and providing assists, but my teammamtes are more than ready to replace me," he added.

"Adu Ares and Alex Berenguer are doing well and hopefully by time I come back Gorka Guruzeta will have scored many more goals and be way ahead of me as the team's top scorer."

When asked about Nico Williams' contract extension, the older brother reiterated that playing alongside Nico at San Mames every weekend was "a great source of pride".

 He continued: "It's a dream come true and what we've fighted for all our lives. It's moving for us to play together at San Mames and see our parents in the stands. Hopefully he'll be here for many more years.

"It's also a message for the lads in the academy, that they should put their trust in Athletic."