Nico Williams shocks Arsenal with huge contract signing

Nico Williams had been widely expected to leave Athletic Club this summer - but he now looks set to stay in Bilbao for the foreseeable future after inking a decade-long contract with the club.

The 22-year-old Spain international, who is ranked at no.7 in FourFourTwo's list of the best left wingers in the world right now, has been linked with a number of clubs,

Rumours of a move to Arsenal particularly persistent over the past few months, with Williams said to have a €62m (£53.5m) release clause in his contract. Barcelona have also been linked, but were reported to be unable to rival Arsenal for wages if it came down to a financial punch-out.

Nico Williams commits to Athletic Club with new ten-year deal

However, Spanish outlet Sport appear to have been bang on the money just a couple of weeks ago when they wrote that Williams was not open to leaving Spain and would either joins Barca or extend his deal at Athletic.

The latter scenario has now come to pass, with Athletic announcing that Williams has agreed to a ten-year contract that ties him to the club until 2035 - as well as significantly increasing that release clause. Williams' previous deal was set to expire in 2027.

Athletic revealed in a club statement that Williams' release clause has risen by 50%.

If the previously reported numbers are accurate, that would put the new figure at around €93m (£80.3m).

However, even if someone were to match that clause, Williams' willingness to commit to the club would suggest he is unlikely to be open to a move right now in any case.

Williams affirmed his commitment to the club, in the statement, saying: "When decisions have to be made, for me, what weighs most is the heart. I'm where I want to be, with my people, this is my home. Aupa Athletic!"

Athletic famously have a policy of only fielding players who come from or trained in the greater Basque Country, which includes regions of north-east Spain and south-west France.

Although Williams' older brother and Athletic teammate Inaki plays internationally for Ghana, both were raised in Pamplona spent time in Athletic's academy before emerging as first-team players.

Nico Williams has emerged as a hugely important player for both club and country over the past few years, and last season helped Athletic claim their first top four finish since 2014.

Williams was also part of Spain's Euro 2024-winning side, starting in six of their seven games and scoring the opening goal in the 2-1 victory over England in the final.

Arsenal have been linked with a number of alternatives to Williams since rumours about Barcelona's interest came to light.

Kingsley Coman, Rafael Leao and Rodrygo are just some of a plethora of names to have been speculatively touted as potential targets for the Gunners.

Mikel Arteta is believed to want to add more quality to his forward ranks after finishing a distant second to Liverpool in the Premier League last season, scoring a relatively paltry 69 goals.

Liverpool managed 86, while Arsenal had scored 91 and 88 respectively in the previous two seasons.