Liverpool Reconsiders Nico Williams as Salah Successor Amid Arsenal Interest

The names keep coming back around. As Liverpool trawl the market for a long‑term successor to Mohamed Salah, one World Cup winner refuses to leave the conversation.

Nico Williams is back on the radar.

The Athletic Club winger, a key part of Spain’s EURO 2024 triumph, has re-emerged on Liverpool’s shortlist as the club weigh up options on the right side of their attack. The interest is not new. The stakes, this time, are.

Liverpool Look Again – But Arsenal Move First

Transfer specialist Ekrem Konur reports that Liverpool have renewed their interest in the 24-year-old, yet they are not at the front of the queue.

“Liverpool are interested in Nico Williams, but Arsenal’s pursuit is currently more advanced,” he posted on X, outlining the current shape of the race. Arsenal, he added, have already made fresh contact for the winger, with sporting director Andrea Berta examining whether a deal can be pushed through.

The key number is clear: £77 million. That is the release clause embedded in Williams’ mammoth deal at Athletic Club, a figure Konur says Arsenal and several other Premier League clubs can realistically meet. Liverpool know the price. The question is whether they believe the output matches the outlay.

A Star Who Flirted With Barcelona, Then Stayed

Not long ago, Williams was one of the most coveted young forwards in Europe. Last summer, he came close to joining Barcelona, a move that seemed almost inevitable for a player of his profile and trajectory.

Then came the twist. Instead of the Camp Nou, he signed a stunning ten-year contract with Athletic Club, tying him to San Mamés until 2035. Loyalty, security, and a clear statement from Bilbao. Yet that deal was never designed to shut the door entirely. The £77m release clause was the escape hatch for Europe’s elite.

On the pitch, his 2023/24 season underlined why so many clubs had circled. Williams produced 18 direct goal involvements in 31 league appearances, a blend of pace, trickery, and incision that made him one of La Liga’s most dangerous wide players. He then carried that form into the international arena, emerging as one of Spain’s standout performers in their EURO 2024 victory.

That summer felt like a launchpad. The leap has not quite followed.

Output vs Price Tag

Since that breakout campaign, Williams’ numbers have levelled off. Across his last two league seasons, he has managed just ten goal involvements in each: 5 goals and 5 assists in 2024/25, then 6 goals and 4 assists in 2025/26.

For a winger being talked about in £77m terms, those figures raise fair questions. He has never scored more than 11 goals in all competitions in a single season. The raw tools are obvious – searing acceleration, sharp changes of direction, the ability to unbalance a full-back in a single movement – but the final product has not yet consistently matched the hype.

That is where the Liverpool debate becomes sharper.

Salah, even in what many considered a quieter year, still delivered 12 goals and 10 assists last season. Those are elite numbers from the right flank, the kind that underpin title challenges and deep runs in Europe. Replacing that level of end product is not about potential. It is about certainty.

Williams offers upside. He does not yet offer Salah’s guarantee.

The Gamble Liverpool Must Weigh

For Liverpool, the priority remains PSG’s Bradley Barcola, whose profile and development curve have pushed him to the top of their list. But the club’s recruitment team rarely work on a single track. Williams sits firmly in that second lane: a live option, a long-admired talent, a player who could explode in the right environment.

The dilemma is simple and brutal. Do you spend £77m on what Williams could become, or do you hold out for someone who already lives in Salah’s statistical neighbourhood?

Arsenal appear more willing to test that question right now. Liverpool are watching, calculating, and deciding how much risk they can stomach in the first true post-Salah rebuild of their forward line.

If they choose Williams, they are not just buying a winger. They are betting that the flashes of brilliance in Bilbao and for Spain can harden into the ruthless consistency Anfield demands.