Chelsea target dubbed ‘New Neymar’ stars on competitive international debut
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 13 Sept 2023 11:27 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea's interest in Club Brugge winger Antonio Nusa is likely to step up after the teenager impressed on his competitive international debut for Norway.
Needing a victory over Georgia to keep their automatic qualifying hopes for Euro 2024 alive, it was Nusa who played the decisive role for the home side in a 2-1 win.
He had previously scored in friendly action versus Jordan in a 6-0 success, but he was devastating down the left against sterner opponents and sparkled even as Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard scored the vital goals.
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Indeed, the Arsenal man was set up by a spectacular dribble from the teen, who has played only 59 times at club level, first for Stabaek in Norway and since 2021 for Club Brugge.
Nusa justified his tag of the Norwegian Neymar as he danced past several challenges before cutting a pass back to Odegaard to strike home.
It proved the decisive moment of the match as Norway ran out 2-1 winners, fending off a late rally from Georgia in injury time.
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Antonio Nusa showing why he's been nicknamed the Norwegian Neymar 👀
Chelsea had a big for him rejected this summer but 20 clubs said to be tracking him.
He follows Man Utd and Arsenal on Instagram for all that means.https://t.co/ua43wMU1Mr— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) September 12, 2023
Chelsea lead the way for Nusa
This performance will only increase the hype surrounding Nusa. The 18-year-old was subject to a sizeable bid from Chelsea on Transfer Deadline Day that was knocked back by Brugge, while there are said to be as many as 20 clubs from around Europe keeping tabs on him.
The Blues appear to be the most advanced in terms of talks for the wide player, yet he will surely ask questions as to his potential development at Stamford Bridge given that first-team opportunities are likely to be hard to come by given the prevalence of young attacking talent at the club.
Nusa follows Arsenal and Manchester United on Instagram, which some have taken as a hint that he might prefer a move to either of those two clubs.
