Chelsea are set to turn their focus towards signing Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams after missing out on Michael Olise.
Olise is set to sign for Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace in a deal worth around £50m, with the Frenchman having snubbed interest from Chelsea and Newcastle in favour of joining the Bundesliga side.
Chelsea remain interested in adding a right-winger to their squad this summer and are set to turn to Williams as an alternative.
The 21-year-old has been in exceptional form for Spain at this summer’s European Championship and produced a man-of-the-match performance in La Roja’s 1-0 win over Italy this week.
Transfers expert Gianluca Di Marzio is reporting that Williams, who has a release clause of £43m in his contract at Athletic Bilbao, is now a top target for Chelsea.
The winger came through the academy ranks at the Basque outfit and has since made 122 appearances, scoring 20 goals.
He formed part of the team that won the Copa del Rey in 2023-24, the club’s first major trophy in 40 years, and ended the campaign eight goals and 19 assists across all competitions.
Arsenal and Liverpool have also enquired into Williams’ interest in a move to the Premier League, while Barcelona have made the Spain international a priority.
However, the Catalan club could lack the financial power to compete with Premier League rivals due to the ongoing economic issues at the Camp Nou.
