Whilst it’s never a good idea to fall in love with a player at an international tournament, Arsenal held interest in one Euro 2024 star before a ball was kicked.
Mikel Arteta seemingly handed his shortlist to Edu very early this summer, convinced on how Arsenal could bridge the gap to Manchester City next season.
Reports are split on whether the list requested a new striker, but Arsenal’s interest in Benjamin Sesko was concrete.
That’s a signing that won’t be happening this season at least, even if Arsenal retain long-term interest in Sesko.
But in the here and now, Arsenal are thought to desire a new winger, a central midfielder and a full-back.
And whilst Paris Saint-Germain’s Xavi Simons has often been linked with Arsenal, it seems he’s not necessarily the front-runner.
Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams is being hotly chased by Arsenal, who is currently starring for Spain at Euro 2024.
And although any attempts to sign Williams would seem well advised, journalist Charles Watts has just pointed out a potential problem.
Nico William’s wage demands could cause a ‘problem’ with Arsenal’s senior players
Speaking on his podcast over the weekend, Watts explained that Williams was on big wages at Bilbao.
And although his £50m release clause would seem very good value, any deal to bring Williams to north London could be extremely expensive.
Watts explained: “Nico Williams is on decent amounts of money and if he’s going to leave Bilbao where he’s very, very happy, the wages that he’s asking for that I’ve heard, the sort of number that is doing the rounds of what he wants, is big, big money.
“So although £50m is an appealing release clause, the wages certainly put up the price that any interested club wanting to sign Williams would have to pay.
“I mean he’d shoot straight to the top of being in the top two of Arsenal’s highest earners should he sign this summer.
“For a relatively young and inexperienced kid, that could cause problems in terms of wage bills and senior players around him suddenly seeing this young kid on more money – so that has to be taken into account.”
Nico Williams could demand more money than Bukayo Saka at Arsenal
For context, 21-year-old Williams is said to be earning €200k-a-week (£169k) at Bilbao right now.
And via the same source, Kai Havertz is said to be Arsenal’s highest earner at £280k-a-week, signalling by Watt’s words that Williams would demand something similar.
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Therefore, for a player intended to compete for a starting role with Gabriel Martinelli, who is a superstar in his own right, it’s a high price to pay.
And for further context, Arsenal’s strongest forward right now, Bukayo Saka, is said to earn £195k-a-week.
Signing Willliams could therefore be a risk, but if Arsenal are serious about competing with Man City next season, as Arteta definitely is, then it could definitely be worth the reward.
There’s definitely merit to Watt’s idea that a young player earning such a wage could unsettle Arsenal’s senior earners, but Havertz was still welcomed with open arms last summer.
Yes, he had achieved more than Williams by that stage of his career, but the Arsenal players would surely just recognise a player arriving to improve their prospects, should a transfer materialise.