Chelsea hand Liverpool clear run at £49m transfer amid Nico Williams Virgil van Dijk demand

Chelsea have given Liverpool a huge boost to their hopes of signing Nico Williams. The 21-year-old winger has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League this summer following his eye-catching performances for Spain at Euro 2024.

Williams has taken the tournament by storm, helping his country reach the semi-finals. The Athletic Bilbao ace, who has a €58m (£49m) release clause in his contract, has started all but one of La Roja’s games, playing a key role in Luis de la Fuente’s side.

He’s been one of the most impressive forwards at the European championships, attracting interest from some top clubs. In fact, according to Catalan publication El Nacional, Liverpool have recently reignited their pursuit for Williams after initial talks collapsed.

The report states that the Reds tried to convince him to join a ‘few months ago’, but his wage demands proved to be a deterrent. El Nacional claim that Williams wanted to become the highest paid player at Liverpool, earning £300,000-a-week – which is said to be more than Alisson and Virgil van Dijk.

The Catalan outlet add that the Reds face tough competition for the Spaniard’s signature, with Barcelona also interested. However, El Nacional believe that Chelsea have now withdrawn from the race to sign Williams due to the eye-watering finances involved – Athletic won’t let him leave for anything less than his release clause.

With Chelsea taking a step back, Liverpool have been given a huge boost to their chances of landing their primary target. Last month, Williams was quizzed on his future by Spanish radio station RNE.

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He said: “It’s hard to deal with, because everyone is constantly asking you what you’re going to do with your future. I’m a 21-year-old kid who just wants to play football. I have already said that Athletic is my home. I only recently renewed [my contract]. I am very happy.

“[Inaki] has already experienced it. He had his moment many years ago with rumours from the outside. He knows what it’s like, he knows how you suffer and he knows what has to be done.”

Last month, the Athletic president, Jon Uriarte, insisted Williams remains content at his boyhood club. As quoted by TribalFootball, he said: “We have impressive talent in the squad. When things are like this, it’s normal that there are players who arouse interest, but we’re not here to talk about rumours.

“Nico is happy in Bilbao and at Athletic and we’re very happy with Nico. We don’t worry about or pay attention to rumours. We’re focused on creating an attractive project for all our players, fighting for titles and competing in Europe.“

Uriarte added: “The club has room for economic manoeuvre to sign players. We had to be able to ensure that the investment did not penalise the expenses.

“We had to balance the accounts and boost the income. That has been our way of acting. At the club we are always aware of what is on the market and identify opportunities.”