Fabrizio Romano believes that Nico Williams will be an important signing for anyone who managers to land the Athletic Bilbao star this summer after an electric season with the Basque club, alongside a positive start to EURO 2024 - and that side could be Arsenal, with the Gunners namechecked in their bid to land the dynamic winger.
Williams, brother of Bilbao legend Iñaki, burst onto the first-team scene in 2021/22 having featured for the club at youth level; and whilst it took him until the 2022/23 season to score his first La Liga goal for the club, he's become a real part of the furniture at San Mames, racking up over 120 appearances for the first-team already at the age of just 21, alongside featuring in 16 games for the Spain national team to date.
It's a rapid rise which has seen plenty of teams in Europe's biggest leagues take a keen interest in his services - and according to Romano, Arsenal could be one of those; though they could have competition from London rivals Chelsea.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano stated that Arsenal made contact with Williams' representatvies to enquire about a move to north London - but they could have to pay over the odds despite the winger boasting a release clause. He said:
"One more detail on Nico Williams, and this is important. What I'm told some big English clubs made contact with people close to Nico Williams, [which was] two, three or four weeks ago.
"[They are] important clubs in the Premier League; for example he is appreciated by people at Chelsea, and he is appreciated by people at Arsenal too. Many clubs have moved to understand the situation of Nico Williams."
Nico Williams' La Liga statistics - Bilbao squad ranking
Stats
Output
Squad rank
Appearances
31
7th
Assists
11
1st
Shots Per Game
1.8
3rd
Key Passes Per Game
1.5
1st
Dribbles Per Game
2.8
1st
"But not only that, it is a very open story. Around Nico, even in Spain there is interest from Barcelona, we know that - but we will have to see the financial situation. It is not easy for Barca, but the appreciation of Nico Williams from Barca is also very clear.
"When all of these clubs moved to understand the situation of Nico Williams, it was about his release clause but also about his salary, which is an important topic. Obviously, the clause is €58million but probably the value of the player is higher than this. And when you enter these kind of situations, similar to Joshua Zirkzee where the player is worth more than his €40million release clause, you have to pay more probably in terms of salary and other costs of the deal."
Williams Could Challenge Gabriel Martinelli
The Brazilian hasn't been at his best and could be threatened
Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli celebrates scoring against Manchester City.
It's tough to see where Williams - described as being an "astonishing" player by BBC reporter John Bennett - will fit into Arsenal's plans. With Bukayo Saka currently occupying the right-wing slot, the Gunners favourite is arguably their most important player on that side of the pitch and with Williams' natural role being on the right-hand side, it's unlikely that he would be utilised there if he was to sign.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic : Williams' best goalscoring season was in 2022/23, where he nabbed nine in all competitions.
However, with Williams starting on the left for Spain against Italy on Thursday evening, the youngster could challenge Gabriel Martinelli on the left-flank for game time; especially with the Brazilian not being at his best last season at the Emirates Stadium.
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