Premier League clubs Arsenal and West Ham United have been given a fresh ray of hope in signing Athletic Bilbao centre-back Unai Nunez – as per AS.
The report states: “Athletic has already transferred three offers to Núñez and does not plan to move any more chips.
“The Portuguese central defender still does not respond to the proposals. In the winter market, West Ham was willing to pay the 30 million clause, but finally, the European Under-21 champion wanted to stay home.”
Unai Nunez has been with the La Liga side ever since he was a boy and it was in 2017 when the defender finally broke into the senior side. This season, he’s played in 18 games for Athletico Bilbao across all competition.
Should Arsenal and West Ham make a move for him?
Is the report in AS is true then this is the third offer which Nunez has rejected at the club which is a clear indication that he wants to head out in the summer.
But at the same time, Bilbao have also made it clear that the defender still has three years left on his current deal and right now they have no intentions of parting with him.
“The only thing we know is that he has a contract until 2023. We have already made our proposal and we are waiting,” said the Bilbao sports director, Alkorta.
“We would love for him to continue with us, he is a boy with a lot of potential. We will continue to wait with the calm that gives us that he has three more years of contract.”
Clearly, if Arsenal and West Ham United are really interested in signing Unai Nunez then they will have to try really hard to convince the La Liga side to part ways with the central defender.
Nunez is worth £26 million in the transfer market making him the ideal choice for both the London based clubs but apart from these two, European giants Inter Milan and Bayern Munich have also been keeping tabs on the defender.
By rejecting multiple offers at his current club the 23-year-old has clearly hinted that he is ready to take the next leap in his career but we have a feeling he will want to play in the Champions League next season which as of now pushes both West Ham United and Arsenal slightly on the back foot.
