Nico Williams: Why Chelsea & Arsenal are chasing 'incredible' Athletic Club winger whose dad worked at Stamford Bridge

Although he is making his name 73 miles away in Bilbao, Williams was born in Pamplona to Ghanaian parents not long after they arrived in Spain. They had risked their lives to get there, to give their sons the platform their careers have been built on, having crossed the Sahara desert - barefoot and without food or water - to reach the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa. His mother was seven months pregnant at the time.

Williams'older brother, Inaki - eight years his senior - was a father figure as their parents worked to make ends meet, and Nico followed in his sibling's footsteps in his youth career, first joining local club CD Pamplona two years after his brother, aged eight, before being picked up by now-La Liga side Osasuna, who also hail from the city famed for the Running of the Bulls.

It's perhaps unsurprising that Athletic Club were keeping tabs on him at that stage, given Inaki had already made the move to Bilbao, and he would again follow his mentor in joining the Basque giants aged 12. He was sent to their feeder club, Basconia, in 2019, before being swiftly promoted to the B team, scoring a late equaliser on his debut.

After rising through the ranks in Bilbao, Williams had caught the eye before his senior club debut and earned a call-up to the Spanish Under-18s squad, although he was also eligible to represent Ghana.

His national team manager, David Gordo, who had also coached him at club level, said at the time: “He has good physical characteristics, which is very similar to his brother, and then technically not bad at all. He is 17 years old and must continue to improve, but I promise him a great future." He added: "The little Williams is one of the highlights of a very good generation."

Having fired Athletic's U19 team to the top of their youth league in 2019-20, Williams was a regular fixture in first-team training the following season aged just 18, amid an even more prolific 2020-21 campaign in the B team. He even earned a place in former head coach Gaizka Garitano's first-team squad for a La Liga clash against Villarreal in December 2020, although he did not make it off the bench. "It was incredible watching him play," Garitano told the BBC. "So easy. He was very fast, incredible speed. Even more skilful than his older brother."

In another interview, Garitano added: "He plays on the right wing, he drives with both legs and, being ambidextrous, he has access from both sides. He is fast, like his brother, and he is still very young. He is a future for Athletic."

Williams was finally handed his first-team bow as a substitute by new manager Marcelino against Real Valladolid in late April 2021, with his brother Inaki joining him off the bench 10 minutes later.

Williams has been a fixture in the Athletic first team since the start of the next season, although he would have to wait until January 2022 to score his first goals - a match-winning brace in the Copa del Rey against Atletico Mancha Real.

His influence is ever-growing; Williams became a key player in 2022-23 as he made 15 goal contributions in all competitions, and he has already surpassed that in 2023-24 - becoming Athletic's creator-in-chief with 14 assists, as well as seven strikes of his own in a season that is already special.

At the beginning of April, the Williams brothers etched their names indelibly into Los Leones' history, as they helped end an agonising 40-year wait for silverware. After seeing his own effort ruled out for offside, 21-year-old Nico threaded a pass through the eye of a needle too tee up Oihan Sancet's vital equaliser in the Copa del Rey final against Mallorca. The game would go to penalties, where Athletic would triumph.

His experiences this season have not all been positive, however; like so many other black players plying their trade in Spain, Williams has been the subject of vile racist abuse - most recently against Atletico Madrid. "There are stupid people everywhere, but nothing happens. We have to keep working," he told DAZN afterwards.

It's on the international stage that his and his brother's paths diverge; having made one friendly appearance for La Roja in 2016, Inaki switched allegiance to Ghana in 2022. Nico, meanwhile, has committed himself to Spain.

Indeed, having progressed through the national team age grades to U21 level, Nico's red-hot start to the 2022-23 season caught then-senior team boss Luis Enrique's eye. He was called up for Nations League fixtures in September 2022, before being fast-tracked into the squad for the winter World Cup in Qatar two months later - where his brother would be representing Ghana.

A winger with quick feet and explosive pace, it's probably no surprise to learn that Williams loves running at his man and attempting to beat a marker with trickery or pure speed. His two-footedness gives him another dimension, as he is capable of operating on either flank to devastating effect.

According to The Athletic, he finished last season with 200 successful take-ons, coming third only to elite wingers Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe in that metric in Europe's top five leagues.

His numbers this season (seven goals, 14 assists) are indicative of a player whose end product is developing, too, as he creates openings for his team-mates both from reaching the byline and cutting the ball back, as well as from longer crosses. Williams' stats would likely be even more impressive if not for his team-mates' profligacy and Athletic's glaring lack of a natural goal-scorer.

The youngster does not shirk his defensive duties, either, regularly seen haring back to help his full-back with intelligent pressing.

Just 21 years old, the younger Williams brother's game is of course still developing, and Athletic will be delighted with his progress. Nevertheless, there are arguably some specifics he could work on; inevitably, as an explosive, high-risk dribbler, Williams often gives the ball away, and he has collected five yellow cards this season as well as a red in the draw with Barcelona - something that suggests discipline is a bit of an issue.

His manager is not too worried for the time being, however. "Nico has to improve and learn some things, but he will do that because he is a sensible kid," Ernesto Valverde said last year.

Although his name still appears in the gossip columns with regularity, Williams actually committed his future to Athletic back in December - signing a three-year contract extension to keep him at the club until 2027 and allaying serious fears that he might seek a move imminently. That deal does, however, include a €50m release clause.

He doubled down on that commitment following the Copa del Rey triumph, telling AS: "I have many years left here, I am calm and happy. Looking forward to getting to Bilbao to celebrate."

However, upon signing his new contract he did admit: "Not even I know what will happen in the future." It's that lingering doubt that clubs like Chelsea may try to exploit in the summer, while the winger has also been linked to Arsenal and Athletic's domestic rivals Barcelona. Indeed, it's claimed the Blues actually tried to sign him last year amid their squad overhaul.

Much may depend on whether Athletic can secure Champions League qualification for the first time in a decade in what remains of the season; Los Leones currently sit fifth in La Liga, but suffered damaging defeat to fourth-placed Atletico on Saturday in a game that saw Williams score having been the subject of racist abuse from the stands.

It's worth bearing in mind that the Williams family is intrinsically linked to Chelsea, with Nico's father having travelled to London and working on the turnstiles at Stamford Bridge when the brothers were young. There would be something poetic, then, about Nico pulling on the blue shirt at some point in the future.