- 9 hours ago
Nico Williams: Arsenal line up bargain Euro 2024 star as Barca face ‘BLACK HOLE’
Robin Bairner
- 21 Jun 2024 10:22 BST
- 3 min read
Nico Williams’ is unlikely to get his dream transfer to Barcelona, opening the door for Premier League sides Arsenal and Chelsea to step in for a player they have been monitoring in recent months.
The 21-year-old Athletic Club winger has caught the eye with his blistering performances with Spain at Euro 2024, with his display against Italy in a 1-0 victory particularly impressive.
He is, however, a player that clubs have had on their radar for some time and these displays have simply been confirmation of the talent of an attacker who registered five goals and 11 assists with the Basque side in LaLiga last season.
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STATS
Nico Williams
M (R), AM (RL)
Athletic
Nico Williams
M (R), AM (RL)
Athletic
In May, FootballTransfers exclusively revealed that the Gunners have been following Nico Williams and are ready to trigger his €55 million release clause.
Nico Williams, though, ideally wants to remain in Spain, and with Kylian Mbappe having moved to Real Madrid, Barcelona represents the only realistic option for him.
READ MORE: Euro 2024 top scorers
Barcelona hopes stalling
The Athletic, though, indicates that Barca face a €130m “black hole” in their budget and a deal for the Spain star will only be possible if they sell a major star by the end of the month.
Lamine Yamal has made it clear he would love to hook up with Nico Williams at Barcelona, but that is only a slim possibility.
Arsenal, as FootballTransfers previously revealed, are waiting in the wings, while Chelsea are also tipped to chance their luck as he hooked up so well with Marc Cucurella. A move here, though, may hinge on whether their approach for Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise is successful.
Liverpool are also rumoured to hold an interest in the player.
Nico Williams has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €37.7 million but this has risen dramatically from €21.9m at the end of last season, underlining his dramatic improvement.
