IPA

Chelsea are stepping up their interest in Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, according to a transfer report from journalist Simon Phillips.

The exciting young Spaniard has impressed in La Liga this season and it seems Chelsea’s scouts have been giving the club really positive feedback on him.

According to Phillips, Chelsea have a long-standing interest in Williams, and they’ve scouted him even more this season, and it seems they’ve clearly liked what they’ve seen.

The report goes on to suggest that the Blues have put out early feelers over this potential deal for the summer, so it seems this is very much one to watch in the weeks and months ahead.

Williams was also one of the subjects of today’s Daily Briefing column from transfer news guru Fabrizio Romano, who admitted Chelsea like the 21-year-old, while he has a rather tempting €50million release clause for the summer.

“Nico Williams is on Chelsea list of players being monitored, he has €50m release clause, so Chelsea know all the conditions,” Romano said.

He added: “At the moment nothing is 100% decided yet and there are also other clubs keen, but Nico is on Chelsea list since last summer.”

CFC certainly seem to have done some groundwork on this potential signing, so it seems the club are serious about bringing in much-needed upgrades on under-performing attacking players like Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke.

A number of Chelsea’s recent signings haven’t really worked out, but Williams is another top young talent who seems to fit the bill in terms of the kind transfer strategy put in place under Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.

It’s a long-term project at Chelsea now, so not every signing will work out, and young players might take time to settle and develop, but Williams looks like he’d be a solid investment.

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