Premier League clubs will rue not signing this future star

Antonio Nusa celebrates his goal for Norway against Ivory Coast at the World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

With time running out in the January 2024 transfer window, Brentford appeared to have pulled off a significant coup.

The Bees were closing in on the £25m signing of Club Brugge winger Antonio Nusa, a highly-rated 18-year-old who had held talks with Tottenham Hotspur and attracted interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, among others.

But the deal suddenly collapsed, reportedly over an issue with the teenager’s medical, and Nusa stayed in Belgium. As time goes on, the failed transfer looks more and more of a missed opportunity for the West London club.

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Why Antonio Nusa will leave Premier League clubs rueing a missed opportunity

Nusa was on the verge of leaving Club Brugge for Brentford in January 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)

The following August, the Bees signed another 18-year-old winger called Gustavo Nunes. The £10m-plus fee and six-year contract showed what they thought of the former Gremio youngster, but injuries have restricted the Brazilian to just five first-team appearances. In his most recent outing, Nunes was hooked at half-time during Brentford Under 21s' 7-1 defeat at MK Dons in the EFL Trophy earlier this month.

A fortnight before Nunes joined Brentford, RB Leipzig signed Nusa for €21m (£18m) on a five-year deal. The Norwegian was already a full international with Champions League experience and his career has gone from strength to strength. Now 21, he has 34 Norway caps, impressed at this summer’s World Cup and is a key figure for one of the Bundesliga’s top teams - and that is just the start.

Neymar was an inspiration for Nusa as a youngster (Image credit: Getty Images)

Brentford’s decision not to sign Nusa - and ultimately bring in Nunes instead - now seems like a bad call, although that is easy to say in hindsight. There is the cruel irony that they supposedly backed out of one deal due to issues with the medical, only for the player they recruited in that position to be plagued by injuries. It is also ironic that they rejected the ‘Norwegian Neymar’ to sign an actual Brazilian who has barely featured.

Nusa’s comparisons to the former Brazil No.10 aren’t just down to his flair, trickery and dribbling ability. He grew up watching YouTube videos of Neymar and tried to replicate his skills.

“My favourite [player] has to be Neymar,” he told FourFourTwo in March 2025. “I can’t mention a hundred guys I watched, but yeah, maybe he was the guy that I got my most inspiration and joy from.”

The vast majority of players dubbed the next Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo or whoever else fail to reach those heights, but Nusa has the potential to be world class. Despite primarily playing on the left wing he is equally effective on the right, which keeps defenders guessing over whether he will go inside or out, shoot or cross, stand a player up or go past them.

He has the tricks of a showboater, but the numbers to back it up. Nusa has registered 19 goal contributions (nine goals and 10 assists) in 34 appearances for Norway, including a brilliant curling strike against Ivory Coast in the last 32 of the World Cup.

Nusa has started the Bundesliga season in fine form for RB Leipzig (Image credit: Getty Images)

The wide man has four goals and three assists across seven games for Leipzig this season, while he has completed the joint-most successful dribbles (15) in the Bundesliga, level with Michael Olise and almost twice as many as Luis Diaz. As wingers go, he is the full package.

Nusa has thrived since stepping out of Yan Diomande’s shadow at Leipzig, after his fellow winger moved to Real Madrid in August for a deal rising to £120m. If he continues to improve, there is no reason why he can’t command a similar fee in the coming years.

But this begs the question: why did none of those Premier League clubs mentioned earlier sign him when he was relatively cheap?

Nusa has thrived since stepping out of Yan Diomande's shadow (Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs were linked with Nusa in summer 2023, when he had already scored in the Champions League for Brugge. The winger reportedly even rejected a move to Chelsea as he wanted to stay somewhere where he was guaranteed regular minutes, accelerating his development.

That is fair enough, but the fact that Nusa was set to leave for £25m in January 2024 suggests those clubs missed out on a bargain deal for a future superstar. They could have paid even less that summer, but Leipzig took the plunge.

The German club’s decision has certainly paid off. Any fears over Nusa’s fitness have not been realised, with the winger playing in 61 of a possible 73 Bundesliga games since his arrival.

Spurs signed Savio for a fee rising to £85m, when Nusa would have cost less (Image credit: Getty Images)

This summer, Leipzig’s asking price for Nusa was reportedly €60m (£51m) - almost three times what they paid two years ago - amid links with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Spurs. Even that could represent a bargain compared to what the winger may be worth in the future, but he stayed put.

Admittedly, Arsenal, Villa and Newcastle ended up signing young wingers for less money, bringing in Christos Tzolis, Ibrahim Mbaye and Bazoumana Toure respectively. But Spurs paid up to £85m for Savio, who scored two Premier League goals in two seasons at Manchester City. Nusa would have cost less and arguably has a higher ceiling than the Brazilian, potentially giving him a greater sell-on value.

The Scandinavian still has three years left on his Leipzig contract, which reportedly has no release clause - allowing the Bundesliga side to continue raising the asking price as his star rises.

Right now, that star is rising every week: Nusa built on his eye-catching domestic displays by impressing during the international break, sharing the spotlight with Norway’s two top dogs, Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard.

The duo are among a host of Premier League players in Stale Solbakken’s squad. Nusa’s familiarity with them, and the high-tempo style favoured by Norway, would help him adapt quickly to England’s top flight.

It is surely only a matter of time until Nusa follows the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Josko Gvardiol and Dani Olmo in leaving Leipzig for one of Europe’s elite clubs. Whoever signs him will have a potential world-beater on their books - and leave several Premier League teams rueing a missed opportunity.

James Roberts is a freelance sports journalist working for FourFourTwo and other titles. He started his career at the Oxford Mail, where he covered Oxford United home and away, before becoming a sports sub-editor for various national newspapers.