Nico Williams: The new target that ignites the rivalry between Chelsea and Arsenal

Arsenal has found a new competitor in the 'race' for Nico Williams and it is not FC Barcelona. The latest information indicates Chelsea's interest in the Athletic Club winger, one of the potential 'bargains' of the upcoming market due to the value of his release clause and his likely desire to make the leap to a 'top' team after four seasons at San Mamés. 

This season, the Pamplona native has 4 goals and 5 assists in 30 matches (2,129 minutes) with Ernesto Valverde's side, statistics well below the expected level for a player with his projection, but this has not cooled, far from it, the international market linked to the Bilbao '11', especially when Barcelona seems to be leaning towards other options for the left winger, one of their priorities for the upcoming market.

The offer with which Chelsea seeks to 'tie' Nico Williams

In this sense, Chelsea is looking to make the definitive move to incorporate the younger Williams into their already extensive squad. According to the English portal 'CaughtOffside', the 'blues' offer points to 20 million euros net salary for the Pamplona native, plus variables and a contract for five seasons, until June 2030.

Enzo Maresca's team is very interested in closing the operation as soon as possible, as they understand that the almost 60 'kilos' that Athletic demands for him is a real bargain.  Furthermore, Chelsea wants to repeat what happened with Mijailo Mudryk, who in 2022 had everything ready to leave Shakhtar for Arsenal, but Stamford Bridge put 70 million on the table to leave the 'gunners' without the Ukrainian during the winter of 2023.

The operation, however, was another of the countless failures of the management led by American Todd Boehly, as the level of the 24-year-old player has been well below expectations (he has 10 goals and 9 assists in 74 matches) and is currently ineligible to play in England after testing positive in an anti-doping control for the use of meldonium, a substance that enhances muscle recovery. Hence the 'blues' insistence on signing another 'top' forward, especially when the signing of Joao Félix (now on loan at Milan) turned out to be a failed operation.