Arsenal and Barcelona have been handed a transfer blow with news that Nico Williams has signed a new deal at Athletic Bilbao.
The Gunners are in the market for at least one new winger in the summer transfer market with numerous names linked to the Emirates Stadium.
Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman and more have been mooted, while it looked for a while that Arsenal would make a serious play to sign Athletic Bilbao’s Williams.
Even as recently as mid-June, there were reports claiming that Arsenal and Barcelona were the leading contenders to sign Williams and that the Gunners had ‘offered’ a salary worth around nine million euros, which is more than the Catalan giants were willing to pay.
Bayern Munich and other clubs have also been linked with Williams but Athletic Bilbao announced on Friday that the Spain international had signed a new deal at Estadio de San Mames.
Giving details of the deal, Romano revealed on X: ‘Nico Williams signs new long term deal at Athletic Club until June 2035! The agreement includes new release clause for +50% compared to €58m previous one and salary increase. Barcelona deal OFF due to registration issues.’
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Speaking after signing his new deal, Williams said: “When it comes to making decisions, for me the most important thing is to listen to your heart. I am where I want to be, with my people. This is my home.”
Former Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant will be disappointed that Williams has signed a new deal as he thought the Spain international would have been a great fit at the Emirates.
Pennant said in April: “I think Nico Williams would be more suited to the Premier League than Kingsley Coman; I’d probably say he’s more of an attractive prospect to bring to the Emirates, especially given his age.
“You definitely wouldn’t turn your nose up at the opportunity to sign Coman, but I think out of the two, Mikel Arteta would favour a move to Williams.
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“Something that Coman does offer that Williams doesn’t is experience in winning trophies. He’s won a lot with Bayern Munich and that experience makes a real impact.
“It shows in the big moments, which Arsenal will want to be part of, so bringing in players that are serial-winners would definitely be beneficial. That said, these youngsters nowadays fear nothing. Look at Lamine Yamal, he fears nothing and is really special.”
Athletic Bilbao could have unwittingly done Man Utd a favour in the transfer market with Barcelona likely to reconsider a move for Marcus Rashford now that their number one target has decided a different future.
Rashford returned from a loan spell at Aston Villa earlier this week and Barcelona have already declared their interest in the Man Utd forward via sporting director Deco.
Deco said in May: “We like Luis [Diaz], we like [Marcus] Rashford, and we like other players.
“When we go to the market, there are names that we know and that could improve the team.”
