Premier League Trio Chasing Athletic Club Defender Unai Núñez
By Max Haley
Athletic Club centre-back Unai Núñez has been linked to a move away from San Mamés, with Arsenal, West Ham and Everton all keeping tabs on the defender.
The 23-year-old, who has been at Athletic since the age of ten, is said to be unhappy with the number of minutes he has been getting, and is refraining from signing a new deal at his boyhood club.
Núñez has a €30m release clause in his contract, and the Basque club have been working on a new contract for their future defensive anchor for some time in order to get that figure puffed up – but with only 12 league starts this season, the centre-back is holding off putting pen to paper.
AS report that the centre-back's situation has attracted the interests of the Toffees and the Hammers, as well as Arsenal in the last few months. The interest in Núñez is not limited to English clubs though, as AC Milan and AS Monaco are also rumoured to be keen on bringing the Spaniard to San Siro and the Stade Louis II, respectively.
The Spanish paper is keen to emphasise, however, that despite the interest shown by Everton and amongst others, no official offers have been submitted yet.
The defender's mindset may yet change, as regular starter Yeray Álvarez picked up an injury in the defeat to Real Madrid on Sunday, which could give Núñez a handful of run-outs before the end of the season to earn a more prominent role.
Whether any of this interest will result in a transfer remains to be seen. West Ham are fighting for survival in the Premier League – and obviously won't be buying if they go down – while Arsenal are rumoured to be keen on a number of centre-backs as Mikel Arteta looks to rebuild the team in his image.