Athletic Club left winger Nico Williams found himself on the radar of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, specifically London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, after a quality 2023/24 LaLiga campaign.
And then after winning the European Championships as a key player for Spain, his stock skyrocketed. Though Lamine Yamal recruited his friend hard to Barcelona, Williams decided to stay with Athletic Club and brother Iñaki after the Lions signed him to a lucrative contract extension.
Although Athletic Club are in the Europa League semifinals and the top four of LaLiga, the transfer rumors surrounding Williams have not quelled, with the Premier League’s elite still circling the 22-year-old star.
Nico Williams wants a huge salary from any team interested
According to a report from the Daily Mail’s Chris Wheeler, Nico Williams is looking for a salary of more than 400,000 pounds per week in order to make a move from Athletic Club.
Per FBref, Williams currently makes 170,000 pounds per week at Athletic Club, so he wants a raise of more than double in order to leave the Lions. That basically signifies that Williams is still uninterested in leaving his current club with his brother and his hometown, unless if someone is willing to tempt him with an outlandish offer.
That’s the vibe here, and although Williams has been good this season with five goals in both the Europa League and LaLiga, it’s pretty obvious that he’s not a 400,000 pound per week player – very, very few players are.
Chelsea have a number of needs across the different levels of their squad this summer, including center back help and, of course, a new striker. The Blues will already have to budget a significant portion of their wage bill on Victor Osimhen or another top striker.
A one-club man at Athletic Club?
So spending a ton in salary on a left winger isn’t going to be a priority for Chelsea. They could use a left winger with Williams’s electricity and ability to create chances for his teammates, but it’s more of a secondary need to striker and clearly not one they are going to break the bank for a non-elite option.
In that sense, Williams hasn’t just priced himself out of Chelsea, but he’s very likely priced himself out of any other potential transfer suitor. I mean, it’s impossible envisioning a cash-strapped Barcelona spending that kind of money on Williams, and they were, by far, the most interested club in Europe during the summer 2024 transfer window.
Williams could be a one-club man like his brother at the end of it all, and there are a lot of fans around the world who would love to see that. As for Chelsea, they should be looking for other wingers in 2025.
Joe Soriano covers Tottenham for FanSided’s Hotspur HQ and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.