David Ornstein has revealed the terms that Arsenal must meet in order to sign Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao.

Given that manager Mikel Arteta has long admired the winger, Williams has emerged as one of Arsenal’s top targets this season.

In fact, Steve Kay of FootballTransfers revealed this month that the Gunners are in talks with the player’s agent and are willing to move quickly, possibly as soon as this month, to sign the Spain star, whose contract with the Bilbao team includes a €58 million release clause.

Ornstein provided an update on Arsenal’s pursuit of Williams, stating that while the club is interested in signing him, there is a significant barrier to triggering what seems to be a very cheap release clause.

Report from The Athletic reporter Ornstein 

“Mikel Arteta loves Nico Williams,” Ornstein said on The Athletic podcast.

“It’s a long-term admiration. He would have loved to sign him in the past, and he would like to sign him in the January transfer window.

“However, there is a good chance that he can’t have Williams because of the finances involved.

“The release clause has to be paid in one go which is horrendous for any club who wants him. He also earns a very good salary in Bilbao which would need to rise if he’s going to move to the Premier League.”

Williams has reportedly always preferred to join Barcelona over moving to the Premier League, something that Arsenal is also aware of. This past summer, the Blaugrana were anxious to sign the winger from Athletic Bilbao, but they were unable to finalise a deal due to budgetary constraints.

The 22-year-old winger is up for grabs in 2025, and during the past few months, Arsenal and Chelsea have also made attempts to buy him. With electrifying performances, Williams was one of the Euro 2024 best performers as Spain took home the gold.

performance at Euro 2024

He was one of the players of the tournament and scored in the team’s 2-1 victory over England in the final. He perhaps gave his best performance against Italy, tearing apart Giovanni Di Lorenzo, the right-back, and setting up Riccardo Calafiori’s own goal to win the match.

In the victory over Georgia in the round of 16, he also scored an incredible goal. Williams, who is 22, is regarded as one of Europe’s most promising young wingers. He has a bright future in the game because of his exceptional speed and dribbling abilities.

Williams has scored 22 goals in 145 games since making his Athletic debut in 2021. In addition, he travelled to the 2022 World Cup and scored four goals in 24 games for Spain. With just two goals in 23 appearances this season, he has been a touch less effective.