Arsenal are admirers of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams and his release clause means a late transfer can’t be entirely ruled out, according to Gunners expert Charles Watts.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his Daily Briefing column, Watts provided some insight into what we could expect from Arsenal in the final few days of the summer transfer window.
It seems unlikely that there’s much time for the north London giants to pull something big out of the bag, but Watts did name Williams as someone they like, with his release clause at Athletic Bilbao still there to be triggered if anyone wants to.
Overall, however, Watts feels this has been a slightly underwhelming window for Arsenal, who have added just Riccardo Calafiori, while Mikel Merino’s move from Real Sociedad should also be made official imminently.
Williams transfer: Could Arsenal spring a late surprise?
“It’s tough to say right now whether Arsenal will pull something out of the bag late on in the transfer window. I think they should, because I really believe they are a bit light in terms of attackers,” Watts said.
“They have let Emile Smith Rowe go and now Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira are expected to follow him out of the door. I know the three of them played very little football last season, but they were still attacking options that Arteta could have turned to who have now departed.
“So I really believe someone should come in to give Arteta another option in attack. If that doesn’t happen, it will feel like a bit of an underwhelming window for Arsenal in my opinion, despite the decent additions of Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino.
“Nico Williams is a winger we know they like, but that would be a tough deal to get done this late in the window. Yes, he has a release clause which makes it impossible to rule out, but it’s far from clear whether he would even want the move should that clause be activated.
“So if Arsenal are to do something, it looks like being one of those surprise signings that potentially catches us a bit off guard.
“Arteta did hint that something could still happen after the game against Villa and I’m sure he will be pushing for more because he will want as strong a squad as possible ahead of such a demanding season.”
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