Nico Williams can leave any full-back in the world with 'nightmares'.

That is the verdict of former Newcastle United striker Joselu after the rapid Spain international lit up Euro 2024, which won't have come as a surprise to anyone on Tyneside. Williams, after all, is a player that Newcastle have long tracked and the Magpies even considered making a move 18 months ago. The Athletic Bilbao star has only developed further since then having been directly involved in 25 goals in all competitions last season.

"When we met him in La Liga last season we already realised he is an absolute rocket of a player," Joselu told the Athletic. "In every game against Athletic Bilbao, we analysed him individually. He is so dangerous with the one-on-ones and has now added goalscoring and chance-creating to his game. Nico can leave any full-back in the world with nightmares."

Although Newcastle have followed Williams' progress, and have good relationships with senior figures at Athletic, it is worth noting that the in-demand 21-year-old plays on the left in a position the Magpies have since strengthened after signing both Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes last year. Williams would also be able to command bigger wages elsewhere even if Newcastle triggered his mooted EUR58m release clause.

Spain team-mate Marc Cucurella, for one, has admitted that he has been telling Williams to 'come to Chelsea' while Pedri has spoken about how he 'hopes' the forward joins Barcelona. The Catalan giants have their own financial issues, but club president Joan Laporta has even declared: "Economically speaking, we could commit to the signing of Nico Williams. Nico is a player I like - I like him a lot."

In contrast, closer to home, eight Premier League clubs spent more on salaries than Newcastle (PS186.7m) in 2022/23, which made the Magpies' fourth-placed finish all the more impressive, and Eddie Howe has previously admitted that the black-and-whites are 'not huge payers of wages' in comparison to their top-flight rivals.

"The big clubs will dwarf us in terms of that so that makes it hard to attract the very best players on the market," he said last year.

Newcastle face intense competition from other heavyweights at a time when many clubs are also looking at a small pool of quality players. Michael Olise, for instance, opted to join Bayern Munich earlier this summer after Newcastle previously showed an interest while Tosin Adarabioyo moved to Chelsea after the Magpies made him a good offer.