Chelsea gave Liverpool a golden chance in their pursuit of Nico Williams, the 21-year-old wing player who made waves at Euro 2024. After a rigid performance for Spain, Williams has attracted the attention of top clubs such as Liverpool and Barcelona. His brilliant performances have helped Spain reach the semi-finals and consolidate its reputation as one of the outstanding pioneers of the tournament.
Williams, who currently plays for Athletic Bilbao, has an exemption clause of 58 million euros in his contract. Its impressive shape has made it a hot commodity on the transfer market. Despite the initial collapse of talks with Liverpool due to his salary requirements, the Reds have reignited their interest. According to the Catalan publication El Nacional, Liverpool initially resorted to Williams' demand to become the club's highest-paid player, earning £300,000 a week more than stars like Alisson and Virgil van Dijk.
However, Chelsea's recent decision to withdraw from the race for Williams due to financial implications has given Liverpool a clear lead in securing the wing player's signature. Athletic Bilbao is firmly convinced that Williams will not leave for anything less than his release clause, a stance that has kept the Blues back. Williams himself remained jealous of his future and expressed his satisfaction with Athletic Bilbao.
He told the Spanish radio station RNE: "It is difficult to deal with because you are constantly asked what you are going to do with your future. I'm a 21-year-old boy who just wants to play football." Nico is happy in Bilbao and at Athletic, and we are very happy with Nico. We don't worry or listen to rumors.
We are focused on creating an attractive project for all our players to win titles and compete in Europe." As the transfer window warms up, the renewed interest in Liverpool and Chelsea's strategic withdrawal sets the stage for a potentially significant step. If Liverpool can meet Williams’ demands, they could land one of Europe’s most exciting young talents and significantly enhance their offensive capabilities for the upcoming season.