La Liga superstar reluctant to join Arsenal or Chelsea this summer | OneFootball

Arsenal have already all-but completed a deal to sign Martin Zubimendi, but he may not be the only La Liga player to make the move to north London this summer. They also have a strong interest in Nico Williams, but their chances of signing him during the transfer window looks to have reduced.

Williams continues to be one of Athletic Club’s star players, but because of this, he has attracted significant interest. Barcelona failed to sign him last summer, and 12 months, new names have entered the running – specifically, there has been interest shown from Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Nico Williams wants to stay in La Liga

But the chances that any of those teams gets a deal done this summer are looking slim. As per Sport, Williams is reluctant to move outside of Spain, despite the fact that Arsenal and Chelsea would both be willing to activate the release clause in his Athletic contract.

Imave via Marca / Ricardo Larreina

Despite rejecting Barcelona last summer, Williams has an interest in joining the La Liga champions in 2025. But unfortunately for the Spain international, they are not considering him as an option at this stage, with Luis Diaz and Marcus Rashford being the club’s primary left wing targets.

At this stage, the most likely scenario is that Williams signs a new contract with Athletic. His current deal expires in 2027, so there has been increased jeopardy about his future. But if Barcelona (or Real Madrid) do not come calling, there is a good chance that the 22-year-old extends his stay in Bilbao.

Should he do this, Athletic would look to significantly increase the value of his release clause, which currently stands at €60m. If this happens, the chances of a future transfer would decrease by a considerable amount, considering that Los Leones very rarely negotiate the sales of their star players.