‘I loved him at Crystal Palace’ – Nico Williams names Wilfried Zaha as inspiration | OneFootball

A technically gifted winger, there are some clear influences in Nico Williams’ (22) playing style. “Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo – I have always liked these kinds of attackers,” the Athletic Bilbao forward told France Football. However, there was one more surprising name on his list of influences – Wilfried Zaha.

“Zaha, who I haven’t already named, I loved him when he was at Crystal Palace. He was a player that I loved to watch. I cut my hair like this to look like him. I tried to copy their (Neymar, Ronaldo, Zaha) dribbles, to copy them as much as possible and move like them, just to do 5% of what they could do,” Williams told France Football.

Williams, at the age of just 22, has already made a significant impact on the world stage, winning the Euros with Spain last summer. Since breaking through at formative club Athletic Bilbao, he has 26 goals and 28 assists in 156 games. That form saw him linked with a summer move to Barcelona, however, he ultimately remained in the Basque region, saying that staying put “felt right”.

His insipration, Zaha, is currently plying his trade in the MLS with Charlotte. Since leaving Crystal Palace for the second time in the summer of 2023, he has spent time at Galatasaray and Olympique Lyonnais. He left the latter after just six months at the end of January, having failed to make an impact, making a meagre six appearances for the Ligue 1 side. The Ivory Coast international netted on his debut for Charlotte.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle