Chelsea are big admirers of Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams, but his wage demands represent a big obstacle for the club.
The 21-year-old winger, who has been mightily impressive for Spain at the ongoing European Championship, is reported to earn almost £170,000-per-week at Bilbao. Any move away from the Spanish club would likely see Williams demand even more in terms of his wages.
While Chelsea remain huge fans of Williams, who has three years left to run on his contract at the Estadio de San Mames, they see his current wage as too high for them to seriously consider signing him this summer. The Blues held talks with the winger’s representatives earlier this summer about a move, football.london understands.
However, at this current point, a move for Williams looks highly unlikely this summer. The Athletic wide man has featured in two of Spain’s three Euros games thus far, with the youngster being handed a rest in a much-changed side that beat Albania on Monday evening in their final group match.
Chelsea are looking to sign another winger this summer to bolster Enzo Maresca’s attacking options in time for his debut season with the club. Michael Olise was a big target for the Blues but the west Londoners have since pulled out of the race to sign the France Under-23s international, who is now seemingly Bayern Munich-bound.
Unless something drastic changes, Chelsea are not expected to follow up on their interest in Williams. The winger has also been linked with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool but in a recent interview, he revealed he wanted to stay put at Bilbao for the following season.
Speaking to El Partidazo de COPE, Williams said: “I have [been] quite clear where I want to play next season. Athletic is my home.
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“I am very happy. I have told my manager that I do not want to know anything until the Euros is over.”
The Spanish club’s president Jon Uriarte has also tried his best to quash rumours over Williams’ future. 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 do not worry about or pay attention to rumours. We’re focused on creating an attractive project for all of our players, fighting for titles and competing in Europe.”
Chelsea currently have Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk as options to play on the wing. Palmer and Madueke tend to operate on the right-hand side while Sterling and Mudryk have been used predominantly on the left.
Sterling has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer after an underwhelming season. However, sources have told football.london that the 29-year-old is set to stay put for at least one more term in west London under Maresca.
Likewise, the club have no plans to sell Mudryk despite some rumours that have circulated over social media in recent weeks. The Ukraine international has been unable to back up the big money Chelsea paid for him in January 2023 but Maresca will be hoping to unlock the winger’s talent next season.
