Barcelona have walked away from the prospective signing of Athletic Club star Nico Williams and will allow Arsenal to press ahead in their attempts to land him, it has been claimed.
Barcelona are long-term admirers of Williams and held talks for him last summer. Barca chiefs were enthralled by the winger’s electric performances as he helped Spain win Euro 2024.
However, Williams opted to stay with Athletic for at least one more season by extending his contract there.
He has gone on to register a further 10 goals and seven assists in 41 appearances for Athletic this campaign.
Williams’ new release clause sits at €58million (£50m / $66m), which is very enticing for top clubs around Europe.
Barca, Arsenal and Chelsea are just some of the sides thought to be monitoring the 22-year-old’s situation.
But according to Catalan source Mundo Deportivo, Barca are moving away from the Williams chase.
Their sporting director, Deco, previously hoped to bring in Williams alongside a new centre-forward. But Deco and Hansi Flick are very happy with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, which has seen them postpone such signing plans.
Barca have resultantly ‘said no’ to signing Williams. This gives Arsenal a chance to complete their own transfer mission and bring the 24-cap international to the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to bolster numerous positions this summer, including left wing, centre-forward, central midfield and left-back.
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Arsenal must still convince Nico Williams
Arteta would love for Arsenal to swoop in and meet Williams’ release clause now that Barca no longer appear to be challengers.
Although, it will be a very tough deal for the Gunners to complete even without Barca. It emerged last week that Williams is strongly considering a lifetime contract with Athletic that will keep him in LaLiga for the long run and include a much larger release clause.
Arsenal will have to pay the forward big wages if they are to convince him to reject this lifetime deal and test himself out in the Premier League.
Due to Athletic’s stance of only signing Basque-born players, they can afford to pay their academy graduates very well indeed. It has been suggested he wants around £300,000 a week to join Arsenal.
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Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has shut down claims that a top Barca performer could head to Manchester United this summer.
Elsewhere, Arsenal are preparing to face Real Madrid again after beating Los Blancos 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Jude Bellingham has warned Arsenal that Madrid are determined to complete a stunning comeback.
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