Arsenal and Chelsea admire Nico Williams, with the London pair regularly scouting the 21-year-old with a view to a summer transfer.
Fabrizio Romano on Caught Offside points towards Arsenal and Chelsea potentially chasing Nico Williams in the summer. The London pair are keen on the 21-year-old La Liga star, who could move out of Athletic Club despite only signing a new contract in December.
Arsenal and Chelsea are vying for Nico Williams.
Nico Williams has steadily become one of the best young talents in Spain and has put in some mature performances for Athletic Club this season. With 15 goal contributions across all competitions, the 21-year-old La Liga star already has a long queue of suitors.
Arsenal and Chelsea are among those keen, as both the London sides will look for a potent winger to grace their respective squads. The Gunners are closely monitoring Willams’s situation at Athletic Club, as there are suggestions he could move in the summer.
Mikel Arteta has been looking to add a new winger, with links to Pedro Neto emerging again recently. However, the Gunners boss will decide on his preferred target, as Williams could also appear as a target depending on the price Athletic Club would sell at.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are keen as the Stamford Bridge outfit is still looking for different solutions to improve their attack. However, if the Blues do not finish in European places, especially for the Champions League, they might lose out on talents like Williams, which could give their rivals the edge in the race.
Fabrizio Romano insisted both Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in Williams. He pointed out that the Gunners have sent scouts multiple times to watch the 21-year-old La Liga star and could accelerate their interest in the summer alongside Chelsea.
Romano said, “Arsenal have also sent their scouts to follow Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao multiple times, and it’s the same for Chelsea as they included him in the list last summer,”
“The race is completely open, and nothing is advanced with either club so far. He’d be great in the Premier League, in my opinion – a physical and technical player, a very good one.”
Nico Williams to leave Athletic Club.
Right before Kepa Arrizabalaga made his record-breaking move to Chelsea, Athletic Club tied him to a long-term contract. The situation with Williams could be similar to that of the Spanish stopper, as the winger might look to leave.
Aston Villa were interested before January but abandoned their chase once Williams signed a new deal. Some unconfirmed reports state that the Athletic Club has not changed much with its release clause, which might have seen a slight increase in the sum.
Hence, there’s every chance for Arsenal, Chelsea or any other suoitor to bring Williams should they decide to trigger the 21-year-old La Liga star’s release clause, believed in the region of €60 million.
