Liverpool Targets Nico Williams as Salah Successor Amidst Arsenal Interest
Liverpool’s hunt for a new right-sided forward keeps looping back to the same name. Nico Williams is back on their radar, and this time the stakes feel higher.
The World Cup winner has re-emerged as a live option as Liverpool continue to plan for life after Mohamed Salah. The club have been scouring Europe for a wide attacker who can both stretch the pitch and shoulder a serious share of the goals. The shortlist has been long. The number of realistic options, far shorter.
Bradley Barcola of PSG remains the preferred target, the one Liverpool would most like to prise away. Yet the market rarely bends to one club’s will, and Williams is once again being weighed up as a possible answer on the flank.
Arsenal Move First, Liverpool Watch Closely
Transfer specialist Ekrem Konur reports that Liverpool are interested in the 24-year-old Athletic Club forward but are not at the front of the queue. Arsenal have pushed harder so far.
“Liverpool are interested in Nico Williams, but Arsenal’s pursuit is currently more advanced,” Konur stated on X, adding that Arsenal have made “new contacts” for the winger, with sporting director Andrea Berta examining whether a deal can be done.
The numbers involved are clear. Williams’ contract at Athletic includes a £77m release clause, a figure Konur notes Arsenal and several other Premier League clubs can realistically meet. Liverpool, then, know exactly what it would take. The question is whether they believe he’s worth it.
A Star Once on the Brink of Barcelona
Williams’ trajectory has not followed a simple upward line, but at his peak he has looked like one of Europe’s most dangerous wide forwards.
Last summer, he stood on the edge of a move to Barcelona, heavily linked and seemingly destined for Camp Nou. Instead, he stunned many by signing a ten-year contract to stay at Athletic until 2035. Buried in that long deal, though, sits the £77m escape hatch that keeps the big clubs circling.
Wind back to the 2023/24 campaign and the appeal is obvious. Williams delivered 18 direct goal involvements in 31 league games for Athletic, a blend of goals and assists that underlined his influence. He then carried that form onto the international stage, emerging as one of Spain’s standout performers during their EURO 2024 triumph, his pace and direct running a constant menace.
That tournament hardened the sense that he was ready for a major move. The elite stage didn’t faze him; it seemed to energise him.
Form, Figures and a £77m Question
Since that explosive period, the numbers have cooled. Across his last two league seasons, Williams has produced ten goal involvements in each campaign: 5 goals and 5 assists in 24/25, then 6 goals and 4 assists in 25/26. Solid, but not spectacular. He has never scored more than 11 goals in all competitions in a single season.
For a club replacing Salah, those figures matter. Liverpool are losing a player who, even in a relatively subdued year, still posted 12 goals and 10 assists last season. They are not just buying potential; they are buying production, and the ability to deliver under pressure at Anfield, week after week.
So the release clause becomes a debate. Is there true value in paying £77m for a winger whose end product has yet to explode at club level? Or do you trust the underlying tools and the evidence from his best spells?
Because the tools are undeniable. Williams is electric over the first few yards and devastating in full stride. He beats full-backs with quick feet and balance, attacks space aggressively and drags defences out of shape. When he’s on song, he looks exactly like the kind of high-tempo, transition weapon Liverpool traditionally thrive with.
What he has not consistently shown is the ruthless finishing and decision-making that turned Salah from a dangerous winger into a relentless goals machine.
Liverpool’s Gamble: Ceiling vs Certainty
This is where Liverpool’s recruitment team earn their money. Do they see a player whose numbers will spike in a more dominant, chance-heavy side? Or one whose ceiling sits just below the elite level his price suggests?
Barcola remains the primary focus, but top-level transfer windows rarely end with the first-choice target walking neatly through the door. Deals stall. Prices rise. Other clubs intervene. If that happens, Liverpool will need a Plan B who can still reshape their attack.
Nico Williams may yet become that Plan B. Or, if Arsenal move decisively and trigger that clause, he could become the one that got away.
Either way, the clock is ticking on Liverpool’s search for a new right flank talisman. How bold are they prepared to be to find the next Salah?
