Brighton & Hove Albion ‘join the race for Athletic Bilbao’s attacker.

Brighton & Hove Albion have reportedly joined the race for Athletic Bilbao attacker Nico Williams

The 21-year-old only has a contract at San Mames until next summer, and there has been a host of speculation surrounding his future over the last few weeks.

Manchester United and Liverpool have both been linked with the Spain international, while it is understood that Barcelona and Real Madrid both want to keep him in La Liga.

Brighton have developed a reputation for developing exciting young players before selling them for big fees, and Williams is thought to be attracted by moving to the Europa League outfit.

Roberto De Zerbi‘s side have picked up 15 points from their opening seven marches of the new Premier League campaign, which has left them in fourth position in the table.

The Seagulls have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, though, including a 6-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the league on Saturday afternoon.Ansu Fati – on loan from Barcelona – scored Brighton’s consolation at Villa, with the Spain international recently joining the club until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Williams has scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists in 89 appearances for his current side in all competitions, including six goals and nine assists in 76 La Liga appearances.

The Spaniard has four assists in four league outings this term, but he has missed his side’s last three matches in Spain’s top flight due to injury.

“The noise around Nico happens when there are players who stand out, especially with young people because they are valued much more for the potential they may have in the future,” Athletic head coach Ernesto Valverde recently told reporters.

“It is something fictitious. There is a lot of talk about one player, then another, then another, and everything calms down as time goes by. We hope that Nico will be here with us for a long time.”

Athletic are believed to be attempting to sign Williams to a new deal with a relatively low release clause, which could still see him leave the club next summer