Chelsea are weighing up a move for the Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams this summer.
Williams, who has a release clause of around £43m in his contract, is enjoying an impressive season in Spain and Athletic are planning for life without him.
Chelsea are drawing up their transfer plans and will be in the running to sign the Spain international. The Stamford Bridge club will look to sign a traditional No 9 – they have tracked Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyökeres – but they are giving serious consideration to a move for Williams.
Signing a top striker is unlikely to be cheap and Chelsea, whose transfer budget could depend on how much they are able to raise through sales, have been frustrated in their recent attempts to fill a problem position for them. They will face competition from Paris Saint-Germain for Osimhen.
Williams’s current wages would put him amongst Chelsea’s top earners but his transfer fee would not be exorbitant. He is capable of playing on both flanks, although he tends to operate predominantly on the left wing.
Athletic have prepared for the possibility of losing Williams, who has six goals and 11 assists this season, by wrapping up a deal to sign Álvaro Djaló from Braga this summer.
Chelsea have mostly used Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk on the left this season. Both have been inconsistent but there is yet to be any sign of Chelsea looking to move either player out. Sterling rejected a chance to move to Saudi Arabia last summer.
