Chelsea have proposed a contract worth €15m a year (£244,000 a week) to Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, according to AS.

The Madrid-based newspaper claims that the Blues are trying to see off competition from the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona for his signature.

It is believed that the Gunners are also willing to put “money on the table” but Barca’s pursuit will depend on offloading either Raphinha or Frenkie de Jong first in order to free up the necessary funds.

All three teams already know how much it will cost to sign Williams. AS report that Williams’ release clause is €58m or £49m.

The wage offered to Williams is pretty high

It should be pointed out that Chelsea have a strict wage structure. One of the reasons they reportedly missed out on Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise was because they refused to meet his salary expectations.

That is why fans should treat these latest reports of a wage proposal to Williams with some caution. Only four players in the Blues squad earn over £200,000 a week (Raheem Sterling, Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell).

If Williams were to get the salary that AS claims then the likes of Cole Palmer (who earns £75,000 a week) will be knocking on the club’s door for an increase.

Are Chelsea targeting any other wingers?

For most of the summer, it has been reported that the club are keen on reinforcing their options out wide but, since the failure to land Olise, things have gone rather quiet on that front.

The only other name that has come up recently is Mathys Tel, but it is felt that it will be tough to lure him away from Bayern Munich this summer. We shall see if the pursuit of Williams gains any momentum.