Arsenal have also indicated they are ready to meet Williams’ 62m euros (£53m) release clause, though the winger still has his heart set on a move to Barcelona. In fact, another report from Sport says Williams has ruled out leaving Athletic Bilbao for any other club other than Barca.

Arsenal remain attentive to developments surrounding Nico Williams, following the winger’s reported openness to leaving Athletic Club this summer. The Spanish international has steadily emerged as one of the most sought-after wide players in Europe,

Arsenal have made a strong play to secure the signature of Nico Williams from Athletic Club, making the Spain international a huge contract offer that cannot be matched by their rivals in the race to sign him.

Real Madrid have reportedly opted out of the race for Nico Williams this summer due to Vinícius Júnior’s contract negotiations.

Mundo Deportivo report that Barcelona are also in the running to sign Williams and the player’s agent, Felix Tainta, met with Barca’s sporting director, Deco, on Friday. The report claims that the message during the meeting was clear that Williams would be ‘eager’ to join Barca this summer.

THE thrills and spills of the summer transfer window are well underway with some huge deals in the pipeline. Man Utd have eyed alternatives to Bryan Mbeumo, with Antoine Semenyo and Eberechi Eze

Rumours emerged this week suggesting that Williams prefers a move to Barcelona, and Bailey has verified these reports, revealing that this was always going to be Arsenal’s issue regarding convincing him to move to North London.

Barcelona have been linked with a number of wingers this summer, and Nico Williams now appears to be back in the frame for a potential move to Catalonia. Their priority appears to be Liverpool winger