Chelsea ready to pay high wages

Chelsea have held talks with the representatives of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, and it appears they have indicated they would be willing to make him one of their highest-paid players.

That’s according to Simon Phillips on Substack, with the journalist explaining that Williams is also a target for Barcelona this summer, and he clearly won’t come cheap.

The Spain international had a very good summer at Euro 2024, and it makes sense that he is now on the radar of bigger clubs ahead of next season, with Chelsea needing someone like that to come in and replace struggling players like Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk.

Williams appears to be having success in the Premier League but it remains to be seen whether Chelsea can get ahead of Barca in the race for his signature.

Williams transfer: What Fabrizio Romano said about his future

Fabrizio Romano has also commented on Williams’ situation, claiming via his Daily Briefing column that the 22-year-old is a priority target for Barcelona at the moment as they are obsessed with signing him, although RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo could be an alternative if the deal doesn’t work out.

“Barcelona also like Olmo and have a good relationship with his agents, as he shares agents with Mikayil Faye, so they have had the opportunity to inquire about his situation. However, for Barca, the priority is Nico Williams,” Romano said.

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“We’ll see what happens with Williams, but that’s Barça’s obsession at the moment. Negotiations are underway on the player’s side, and then we’ll see what Barça decides to do with him or with Olmo eventually, but at the moment there is still no offer.”

Oscar Bobb’s transfer to Chelsea could also be a story to watch, according to Phillips elsewhere in his column.