Arsenal and Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams, as per The Athletic.
The Spaniard has continuously been linked with a move away from the Basque club after displaying promising performances for club and country. He helped his side qualify for the Europa League by finishing fifth in La Liga last term and also guided Spain to win the European Championship last summer.
The Gunners were said to be interested in signing him ahead of this season but Barcelona were the favourites to secure his service and the player was even open to moving to the Blaugrana. However, a deal eventually didn’t come to fruition. Now, he has been helping Ernesto Valverde’s side mount a top-four finish in La Liga this campaign.
The Athletic report that Williams is expected to leave San Mamés next summer to take the next step in his career and the Premier League is increasingly likely his next destination.
Battle
Arsenal remain keen on signing him and Liverpool are also interested in him. Moreover, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are plotting a swoop for him as well.
Williams reportedly has a £49m release clause in his current contract with his current contract set to run until 2027. He is a left-winger by traits but is also comfortable on the opposite side.
Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli are the two options Mikel Arteta has at his disposal to deploy in the left flank but the Gunners need to upgrade this position to take the next step in their rebuild as neither of them has managed to showcase their best consistently.
On the other hand, Liverpool already have enough firepower to their left side of the attack having already got Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa.
Therefore, they don’t have to spend big on yet another left-winger. Instead, they would need to sign a new right-winger if Mohamed Salah eventually leaves the club.
So, Williams would be better off joining Arsenal over the Merseyside club if he were to leave his boyhood club at the end of this season.
Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see whether the North London club or Liverpool eventually go head-to-head with each other over this deal.
