Brentford have reached an agreement with Club Bruges to sign winger Antonio Nusa.
The west London club have agreed terms with the 18-year-old, who also held talks with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. It is unclear, however, whether he will be loaned back to his current side for the remainder of the season.
Newcastle also admired Nusa and held an interest in his services, but he has been impressed with Brentford’s plans for him and his development.
Nusa, a Norway international known for his ability to take on defenders, made the move to Bruges from Stabaek in 2021.
This season, he has contributed four goals and three assists in 28 appearances across all competitions.
The Athletic reported earlier this month that Tottenham had been in talks with Bruges over a move for Nusa. Ange Postecoglou’s side have been in the market to strengthen in forward areas, primarily targeting someone to play either off the left or through the middle. They have already signed Timo Werner on loan this month.
He signed a new contract with Bruges in April that runs until the summer of 2027.
Is Nusa what Brentford need?
Analysis by Brentford reporter Jay Harris
Brentford have been searching for a versatile, dynamic forward for the last two transfer windows. In the summer, they unsuccessfully pursued Fiorentina’s Nicolas Gonzalez and were rejected by Brennan Johnson, who decided to join Tottenham instead.
They agreed a deal in the final week of the window to sign Johan Bakayoko, but he changed his mind after PSV Eindhoven qualified for the group stages of the Champions League. Going even further back, they came close to signing Mykhailo Mudryk six months before he joined Chelsea.
Brentford are bracing themselves to lose Ivan Toney at the end of the season and it will be difficult to find a direct replacement for him. The club’s focus is on evolving their forward line to be more fluid, while they are also aware Bryan Mbeumo’s performances will have attracted interest from other teams.
Nusa’s arrival would follow the club’s trend of buying young players with high potential, developing them and then selling for a large profit. After missing out on a lot of their top targets in the last two years, securing Nusa — who held talks with Chelsea and Spurs — would be a real coup for director of football Phil Giles and technical director Lee Dykes.
(Nico Vereecken / Photo News via Getty Images)
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