The Blues are rank underdogs in the pursuit of the flying Athletic Club winger, but landing him would be a transformative statement of intent
Chelsea will harbour deep regrets over not making their move for Nico Williams before Euro 2024; somewhat out of the spotlight at Athletic Club, he was well-regarded but not necessarily considered a potential superstar by casual viewers. The European Championship changed all of that, as he emerged as arguably the breakout sensation of the entire tournament, dazzling on Spain’s path to glory in Germany.
Now the Blues find themselves lagging behind in the race for one of few big names they have been seriously linked with this summer – a signing they could really do with to both improve their squad and reemphasise their status as one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Their transfer window to date has been a far cry from recent summers – perhaps a reflection of their fall from grace – as they focus their attentions almost solely on gathering high-potential young players from around the globe. After last year’s eye-watering spend on the likes of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer, the Blues’ decision-makers have shown far more restraint as they piece things together for another new head coach in Enzo Maresca.
Williams, though, is a move they should be insisting on in the face of fierce competition, and one that could be the difference between success and more mediocrity in 2024-25.
Despite the steady – if unspectacular – progress they made under Mauricio Pochettino last season, Chelsea are back to square one after yet another managerial change. With Maresca installed, the odds of a top-four finish and ending the season in mid-table are probably about the same.
More unproven, young talent has been added to the squad, while others deemed surplus to requirements were shipped off to the highest bidder in a fire sale at the end of June with the aim of falling in line with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). The Blues have also lost the vast experience of the legendary Thiago Silva, with the defender returning to his native Brazil for his swansong.
It has been reported that Chelsea hope to add two or three more signings before the end of the window, and of course much can change with more than a month of the transfer period still remaining, but at the moment there is the sense that they lack experience – with the average age now just 23 – and quality in certain positions.
With the club’s name conspicuously absent from the list of those links with the biggest names on offer this summer, that seems unlikely to change, meaning Maresca – a coach who has never managed in the Premier League before – will be hoping that he can impress his ideas on this young group and get the very best out of what he has at his disposal.
On paper, Chelsea are well stocked for wingers; they have the experience of Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke demonstrated his potential at times last season, and there is surely more to come from Mykhailo Mudryk. Meanwhile, Cole Palmer is arguably at his most threatening as a roaming right-winger and Christopher Nkunku can play out wide too. New £51 million ($66m) signing Estevao Willian will arrive in 2025 as well.
However, in reality there are question marks over Sterling and Mudryk’s long-terms futures, with the former’s form dipping last season as he continues to struggle to endear himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful, and the latter still flattering to deceive in his first full season in west London.
Palmer will likely start on the right in Maresca’s fluid 4-3-3 system, with Nkunku central as a No.10. Madueke operates on the right side so will be a first-choice rotation option, which means the left is something of a problem area.
Williams – a player who finished last season with 200 successful take-ons, coming third only to Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe in that metric in Europe’s top five leagues – would undoubtedly be an upgrade on the versions of Sterling and Mudryk we have seen in recent months, so there could be a call to be made on their futures.
The one big name Chelsea have been consistently linked with in recent times is Williams, but they may well be cursing that they did not make their move for the flying winger sooner. After an outstanding domestic season where he made 27 goal contributions for Athletic Club, the 22-year-old was one of the breakout stars of Euro 2024 in Germany – playing a key role in Spain’s deserved tournament triumph as La Roja defeated some of Europe’s finest en route to lifting the trophy in Berlin.
A string of scintillating performances and three goal involvements have propelled him from highly-rated-but-little-known youngster to near superstardom alongside Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, who occupied the other wing in Luis de la Fuente’s attacking 4-3-3 formation.
Williams’ crowning moment came in the final against England as he opened the scoring, expertly firing a first-time shot across goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and into the bottom corner after a brilliant assist from his co-star Yamal. He caused problems throughout the showpiece, earning the Player of the Match award in the biggest game of his career to date.
Given his newly-enhanced reputation off the back of a stellar individual tournament, pursuing a potential superstar in Williams would be a departure from Chelsea’s understated and quiet transfer window to date.
Although Estevao’s arrival promises to be seismic in 2025, Chelsea are yet to spend more than £30m ($38m) on a player for this summer despite making six new signings already. Leicester’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was the most costly of those as the club went after a player who will fit former Foxes boss Maresca’s system, but 18-year-old Omari Kellyman was a £19m ($24.5m) capture from Aston Villa, while Marc Guiu (18), Renato Veiga (20) and Caleb Wiley (19) all came cheap and Tosin Adarabioyo – an older statesman at 26 – arrived on a free transfer.
This business may be shrewd, but it has hardly captured the imagination of a fanbase that will be crying out for for better things next season after back-to-back testing campaigns where the Blues have finished well outside the top four. Indeed, it is about time they put their rivals on notice if they are serious about climbing back to the upper echelons of the European game.
And what better way to do that than a statement signing? Chelsea are by no means favourites to land Williams and it is clear they are trying to work within their means this summer amid the risk of breaching PSR, but this is not a deal that is out of their reach.
There are multiple things that will make a move for Williams enticing; firstly he is believed to be open to a move, secondly he does not already play for an elite club having spend his entire career with Athletic Club to date, and thirdly – and most notably – he has a very appealing release clause.
Despite the fact his stock has risen considerably after his exploits at Euro 2024 and he is arguably worth northwards of €100m (£84m/$108m) in the current market, the winger’s sale could be triggered by a fee of between just €55m and €60m (£46m-£50.5m/$59m-$65m). You would expect that to be within Chelsea’s means despite their relatively frugal outlay this summer, and the 22-year-old fits within their new transfer framework.
The Athletic reported earlier this summer that Chelsea planned to double down on their strategy of recruiting the best young players they can get their hands on and developing them internally, rather than splurging on established stars. Dewsbury-Hall aside, that has proven to be the case so far in this window as the Blues’ spending on teenagers under the Boehly-Clearlake ownership has surpassed £150m ($193.5m).
Having just turned 22 and available for a fee well under market value, Williams can headline Chelsea’s aggressive youth recruitment strategy.
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After all, there would be something poetic about Williams moving to Chelsea as – quite incredibly – his family is intrinsically linked to the club despite him being born to Ghanaian parents and raised in northern Spain.
When Nico and his brother and fellow Athletic Club star Inaki were young, their dad Felix travelled to London in search of work and actually ended up manning the turnstiles at Stamford Bridge as he sought to make ends meet.
“He [Felix] worked in a shopping centre near Chelsea clearing tables in the food halls or as a security guard, tearing tickets at Stamford Bridge,” Inaki told The Guardian in 2021. “Any job no one wanted.”
Chelsea will hope that somewhere deep down, Williams sees the romance in completing his family’s remarkable ascent by pulling on the blue shirt and plying his trade in the very same stadium his father worked at in the early 2000s.
Williams’ rise to prominence and the seemingly straightforward nature of a potential transfer means that Chelsea inevitably will not have things their own way in pursuit of his signature. Indeed, they are already facing stiff competition.
In spite of their financial troubles, Barcelona are believed to be leading the race at this stage and are supposedly prepared to pay his release clause and sell players to make way, having already met with Williams’ agent.
The player’s preference is said to be to stay in La Liga and, in typical fashion, Barca president Joan Laporta has already spoken publicly and bullishly about having the funds to make the deal happen: “It is Nico’s responsibility,” he said. “We are working on the operations that [Hansi] Flick asks of us. Today we can afford to sign Nico Williams. We can deal with a signing like Nico’s.”
The possibility of playing alongside Spain co-star Yamal – with whom he has struck up a close friendship – will surely also be of appeal. Elsewhere, the Blues’ London rivals Arsenal have also been credited with an interest, while Paris Saint-Germain have become the latest leading European club to make an enquiry.
Although Marc Cucurella did his best to convince the winger to choose Chelsea by telling him to move to Stamford Bridge ‘every day’ at Euro 2024, unable to offer Champions League or even Europa League football, they are at a significant disadvantage. However, they have shown in the recent past that they are capable of luring the most coveted players to Stamford Bridge despite their fall from grace. Williams would perhaps be their biggest coup yet.
