The news that Chelsea’s move for Michael Olise had broken down was bitterly disappointing for many Blues fans – they wanted the Crystal Palace star more than almost anyone else who might come in this summer.
But that’s not to say there aren’t other great players available, and two different sources have today mentioned one in particular who might actually end up getting fans almost as excited as Olise.
Nico Williams has been bubbling up as a top wing talent for a couple of years, but it was really this season which saw him blossom into one of Europe’s most in demand players. That’s only been exaggerated by his showings for Spain at the Euros. He was great against Croatia in their opening game and then utterly destroyed Italy in the second.
Bad news for Blues fans
Our writer Simon Phillips referred to Williams in his Substack post published today about our post-Olise options:
!However, sources are not confident at all on Williams, and many believe that to be a nonstarter already. I understand that Chelsea have asked for conditions on his release clause just over the weekend. I personally see this as having 2% chance of happening (my opinion not info) due to once again, the overall financials that it would cost. Never say never though.”
Hmm. That’s not exactly promising. Meanwhile top insider Fabrizio Romano had a similar line in his Daily Briefing:
“Chelsea have made contact in recent months to understand the conditions of any potential deal for Williams. What I’m told now, is that although the appreciation remains, Chelsea are not advancing on Williams, because of the cost of the deal.”
It seems like Olise isn’t the only player we’re going to miss out on for cost reasons. This is not the kind of news that’s going to go down well with fans, who want to see the team succeed on the field, not on the spreadsheet.