Chelsea “engaged in talks” with elite winger according to latest exclusive | OneFootball

It was just two days ago that we wrote that Nico Williams, a long term rumoured winger target for Chelsea, would be our dream option out wide.

We wrote that it just might not be realistic, however, given the likely transfer fee and wage demands we’d have to pay to secure him.

Well, as if by magic, today Graeme Bailey of TBR Football has dropped an exclusive report on the Blues’ continued interest in the Athletic Bilbao and Spain attacker.

Chelsea have apparently “joined” Liverpool and Arsenal in pursuing the winger this summer, and would even consider selling Noni Madueke to make it happen.

Estevao William and Geovany Quenda are already set to arrive, the former this summer and the latter next, but Chelsea “are in the market for a tried and tested star to immediately make an impact in wide areas.”

They have therefore “engaged in talks with Williams’ entourage,” who are now “fully aware” of how much we want him. The fact that Liverpool and Arsenal are also keen will make this a difficult and expensive deal to pull off. But the idea that we’re in the race certainly piques our interest.

Williams still a major target, albeit a distant one

Nico Williams playing for Athletic Bilbao.

We know that Chelsea are keen to sign another winger, with Jadon Sancho’s loan potentially ending with him returning to Manchester United and Mykhailo Mudryk possibly facing a multi year doping ban. The Madueke sale news, which we don’t quite believe, would certainly precipitate a major arrival.

If all of those things come to pass, there would certainly be space in the squad for Williams, and it would just be a case of raising the cash to sign him. But with a number 9 top of our priority list, that may prove difficult.