Udinese Calcio has reached an agreement to sign Unai Gómez from Athletic Club, moving to acquire one of the Basque club’s more promising young midfielders in what would be a notable piece of summer business for the Italian side.

Gómez is 23 years old and has accumulated 83 senior appearances for Athletic since breaking into the first team.

Who is Unai Gómez?

Born on May 25, 2003, Gómez operates as an attacking midfielder and has developed steadily through Athletic Club’s famously self-sufficient academy system, the Cantera.

He renewed his contract with Athletic as recently as October 2023, signing an extension that runs through June 2028. That deal gives Athletic significant leverage in any negotiation.

The two clubs are reportedly far apart on valuation. Udinese submitted a proposal, Athletic came back with a number considerably higher, and as of early July 2026 the gap had not closed. Gómez himself has indicated he wants to stay at Athletic and prove himself to new head coach Edin Terzic during pre-season.

Why Udinese, and why now?

Gómez fits the profile of a Udinese target: a young attacking midfielder with top-flight experience, a contract that still has two years to run, and a selling club that will require real money to move him.

Athletic Club is not a club that discounts its players under pressure. When they do sell, they tend to extract full market value. Udinese is asking them to move a player who wants to stay, on a long contract, at a price Udinese has so far not matched.

Gómez has publicly expressed interest in showing new manager Terzic what he can do before any decision gets made about his future. Pre-season is effectively his audition, and he knows it.

What this means going forward

For Athletic Club and Terzic, the situation is straightforward. If Udinese meets the price, Athletic recycles the fee into the squad. If the deal falls through, they retain a 23-year-old attacking midfielder under contract until 2028 who would rather not leave.