Nico Williams transfer saga takes fresh twist as Arsenal battle out with rivals

Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are all interested in Nico Williams and it is the LaLiga giants who are currently leading the race for the Spain superstar

Arsenal have suffered a fresh blow in their pursuit of Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams, with Barcelona reportedly now the frontrunners to sign the winger. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is a huge fan of the Spain international and wants to bring in a new left winger.

Williams is their top target, having starred for Bilbao in recent years and playing a key role for Spain as they won Euro 2024. However, a number of other clubs across Europe are also interested in the 22-year-old.

According to Sky Germany, Barcelona are currently leading the race to sign Williams, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern Munich also involved. It is claimed that Barcelona president Joan Laporta is currently working out if the deal is financially viable and whether LaLiga will let them register the player.

Barcelona have struggled with a number of financial issues in recent years, but are said to be ready to push through with the move if they 'get the green light'. Manager Hansi Flick is reportedly 'determined' to sign Williams.

If Barcelona are not successful, then Bayern are expected to be favourites to sign the Spain star. It will be a huge blow for the Gunners, who have yet to make any new signings so far this summer - but the club are confident that a deal for midfielder Martin Zubimendi will go through next month.

They are also working on the addition of a striker, with Arteta having told fans back in March to expect a "big summer" in the transfer market. "It's going to be a big one and we are very excited about it.

"The way we planned the five first summers, they were going to be very big and they were going to have different objectives because the turnaround of players and the objective of those windows was going to be different.

"But now when you are going to go again, we want to increase the depth of the squad but as well we want to increase the quality and the skills that we need to go to the next step.

"I think Andrea [Berta] is a big addition to the club, a big addition to the team, a team that is already formed with a lot of great people. Every summer is big because it is an opportunity and especially because of the number of players we have in the squad right now that is necessary.

"But it's a big summer for many things because first of all we have to maintain the good foundations that we have and then obviously how can we improve and evolve the team."