Revealed: Why Chelsea target Nusa snubbed Tottenham to join Brentford

Cameron Smith

• 28 Jan 2024 10:24 CST
• 3 min read

Club Brugge wonderkid Antonio Nusa is set to join Brentford after snubbing interest from Tottenham Hotspur.

The Norway international appeared destined to join Ange Postecoglou’s side during the January transfer window, but they have been beaten to his signature after a late hijack from Brentford.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Bees have reached a full agreement to sign Nusa from Brugge, although he will return to the Belgian club on loan for the rest of the 2023-24 season.

Brentford have reportedly paid a fee in excess of €30 million to secure Nusa’s signature, with the player opting to join Thomas Frank’s side instead of Tottenham.

Nusa has chosen to sign for Brentford due to the fact he has been guaranteed a first-team role by the Bees, according to Football.London.

Tottenham, on the other hand, were unable to offer such assurances and Nusa subsequently decided to snub Spurs’ interest in order to join Brentford.

While he has relatively little competition for places as a left winger in west London, Nusa would’ve been forced to rival the likes of Brennan Johnson, Heung-min Son, Richarlison and potentially Timo Werner at Tottenham.

Chelsea miss out on Antonio Nusa

Chelsea were also interested in signing Nusa last year and they saw a Deadline Day bid turned down. The Blues have switched their focus to Napoli superstar Victor Osimhen as they look to finally sign a prolific goal-scorer.

Nusa, 18, has scored three goals and provided two assists in the Jupiler Pro League so far this season, although he has only started six league games for Club Brugge in 2023-24.

The Norwegian also has one goal and four assists in just four senior caps for his country. Nusa’s international team-mate Martin Odegaard showered praise on the teenager after his Norway debut.

“He [Nusa] is an incredibly exciting player,” the Arsenal captain said.

“You see it, everything he gets the ball, it’s exciting. He is still young and will get even better.

“He must continue as he has done. Work hard, be humble. He’s a nice boy. Very calm and nice type. It’s going to be just fine.

“He just has to enjoy the football and continue to deliver as he does. Then it will be good,” Odegaard concluded.