Arsenal and Liverpool ready bids as Swansea centre back given affordable asking price.
Liverpool and Arsenal are on high alert after Sky Sports revealed that Swansea City central defender and vice captain Ashley Williams has an asking price of £10 million this summer.
The two Premier League giants have been linked with signing Williams for much of the second half of the season, with the Merseyside club thought to hold the edge thanks to the player being a boyhood Liverpool fan.
Williams has earned praise from all quarters for a stunning couple of seasons in the Barclays Premier League with the Swans, and is a favourite amongst the Jack Army supporters – not least for helping his team lift their first ever piece of major silverware in the Capital One Cup this season.
Silverware is something Arsenal certainly crave, with the Gunners entering their ninth year without a trophy.
Whether a player from a midtable team can provide the winning mentality required to help the north London club again make that step remains to be seen, but at £10m, it would be a reasonably inexpensive gamble in today’s market.
Williams is a fine defender whose strength lies in his anticipation. He blocks 1.5 shots per Premier League match, and 2.9 interceptions, indicating he is often in the right place at the right time, and his comfort on the ball is something that fits with the ethos of both Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and his Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers.
The one thing against Williams is that by the time next season starts, he will be 29, and perhaps Liverpool and Arsenal may think twice about committing £10m to a player approaching the twilight of his career.
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