A transfer battle appears to be brewing in London, but the two Premier League rivals may face extremely tough opposition.
Arsenal has apparently been scouting Athletic Bilbao and Spain winger Nico Williams, who is a suspected transfer target for London rivals Chelsea.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have also been connected with the 21-year-old, who has made over 100 appearances for Athletic since his debut at the age of 17.
Williams, who signed a new deal in December that runs until the summer of 2027, is thought to have a release clause of €50 million (£42.6 million).
According to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal and Chelsea have both expressed a strong interest in the Athletic Bilbao young product.
“Arsenal has also sent their scouts to follow Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao several times,” Romano told CaughtOffside, “and the same goes for Chelsea, who placed him in the list [of transfer targets] last summer.
“The race is entirely open, and neither club has made any significant progress. In my opinion, he would be an excellent Premier League player, both physically and technically.
Williams was born in Pamplona, Spain, to Ghanaian parents and began his professional career with Basconia, Athletic’s feeder club.
He has appeared 109 times for the Basque giants in all, scoring five goals in 24 appearances this season, which he began in style by collecting La Liga’s Player of the Month title in August.
Williams, a Spanish international since the U18 level, made his full debut for La Roja shortly before the 2022 World Cup, when he appeared in all four of the country’s games, including a start in the group stage defeat to Japan.
