Arsenal and Liverpool target Nico Williams has a preference if he leaves Athletic Club | OneFootball

Nico Williams remains one of the most coveted players in European football, with both Arsenal and Liverpool having recently made contact regarding a move.

Chelsea are also said to have an interest in the wide man, though Mikel Arteta would love to land Williams for the Gunners.

Nico Williams has indicated a preference of who he’d like to join

It’s understandable why some of the Premier League’s best clubs would like to land the electrifying winger.

Nico Williams of Athletic Club reacts during the LaLiga match against Real Madrid at Estadio de San Mames on December 04, 2024 in Bilbao, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

So far in the 2024/25 season he’s only managed a single goal in La Liga (transfermarkt), but it’s the speed at which he plays the game which means he’s a nightmare for opposing defenders.

A €58m release clause (GOAL) is well within reach for those English top-flight clubs interested, though it would appear that all of them could be out of luck.

That’s because, according to TBR Football, the player’s preference, should he move on from Athletic Club de Bilbao, is Barcelona.

That shouldn’t come as any surprise given his friendship with Lamine Yamal and many other Spanish national team players such as Pau Cubarsi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez et al.

Barcelona’s financial woes could preclude them from signing Nico Williams

The one saving grace for the Premier League sides is that Barcelona still appear to have financial issues to deal with in order to be able to register new signings.

It isn’t clear what Joan Laporta and his board will need to do to ensure that they don’t have further problems with La Liga’s hierarchy in the summer, though they do have both Yamal and Raphinha already in the team in the wide positions.

There’s not such an urgency to therefore bring Williams to Catalonia as there once was.

The tug-of-war for the player is sure to be keenly contested as and when it seems that transfer moves are made at the end of the current campaign.