Chelsea and Arsenal could go head-to-head for one player’s signature in the summer transfer window.
Fabrizio Romano has claimed on Substack that Arsenal and Chelsea have both “sent their scouts” to watch Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams and that the race for him is still open.
The 21-year-old only signed a contract extension in December. His previous deal was set to expire at the end of the season.
This term, Williams has made 20 appearances in La Liga and scored three goals. He has also registered six assists.
In the last La Liga campaign, the attacker came up with 10 goal contributions in 36 outings.
Race open for Nico Williams
While Williams may have just signed a new contract at Athletic, it looks like he could still leave Ernesto Valverde’s side in the summer.
Chelsea seem to have a chance of signing the Spain international, but you would have to question if he is what Mauricio Pochettino‘s squad need right now.
MORE CHELSEA STORIES
Williams’ best position is on the left flank, but Chelsea already have quite a young and raw player there, Mykhailo Mudryk.
If the Blues are planning on investing more money in another left winger, it probably makes more sense to sign someone with a bit more experience and end product. The club need to return to the Champions League and start competing for the Premier League title again. They do not have time to be developing so many young players.
Yet that looks to be the route Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital want to go down, as Chelsea have mostly signed young talent since they took over the club. Therefore, while Williams should probably not be at the top of Chelsea’s list going into the summer transfer window, it is one you cannot rule out just yet, though Arsenal’s interest could complicate things for them.
