Arsenal to offer Spanish international £10.4m deal amid battle with Barcelona for signature: Reports

Arsenal are reportedly leading the chase for Nico Williams this summer amid interest from Barcelona. The Gunners have reportedly offered him a £10.4 per season contract as they look to secure the signing from Athletic Bilbao.

As per a report in Football Transfers, Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Williams and are ready to make the move for him this summer. The Spaniard is currently on a reported £171,000 per week at Bilbao and is set to be offered £200,000 per week by the Gunners.

Mikel Arteta's side are looking to offer him a five-year contract and are working on getting him to jump the ship. They do face competition from Barcelona, who are yet to sort out their financial crisis.

The Blaugrana are close to getting back within LaLiga's 1:1 rules, but have not managed to get strengthen their position. The Catalan side are confident of making it right before the summer window opens and Williams remains one of their key targets after missing out last summer.

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Nico Williams rejected Arsenal and Barcelona last summer

Arsenal and Barcelona were keen on signing Nico Williams last summer but the Spaniard opted to remain at Athletic Bilbao. He also had interest from Chelsea and PSG, but the winger stated that he did not want to leave his boyhood club.

In an interview with L’Equipe, he said via Yahoo Sports:

“At that moment last summer I made the decision that I considered to be correct and I’m very happy with it. It was for my family. The relationship we have with this club is incredible and I don’t think I’ll find this atmosphere anywhere else."

His agents, Félix Tainta and Juan Oyaga, also spoke with AS earlier this season and confirmed that the final decision was made by the forward. They said:

“The lad has had an incredible year and has confirmed it, for me, by being the best player in the European Championships. Obviously we have had a lot of movement, a lot of travelling and being happy. It is compressed into a very short time, and at the end of the transfer window we are a bit stressed, but we like it. The boy has decided to stay, he wanted to stay for another year and work.”

Nico Williams has a reported €60 million release clause in his contract, and Athletic Bilbao have been trying to get him to pen a new deal to remove the clause.