Club Brugge coach Ronny Deila thinks the £26 million-rated Antonio Nusa will not leave for the Premier League until the summer at the earliest but concedes that Tottenham Hotspur ‘could be a good option for him’.
If this was the Spurs of Antonio Conte or Jose Mourinho, we’d probably have a few stern words of warning for Antonio Nusa.
But with two of football’s great pragmatists a distant memory – and a purist in Ange Postecoglou getting a very different, far jauntier tune out of a team who previously plodded along to Conte’s macabre musical stylings – the 18-year-old whizzkid might just be on his way to North London at precisely the right time.
Tottenham in talks to sign Club Brugge’s Antonio Nusa
HITC Football understands that Tottenham Hotspur are happy with how things are progressing with Club Brugge. An agreement on a deal potentially worth just shy of £30 million is edging ever closer, though that has not shaken Deila’s confidence that Nusa will still be a Club Brugge player come February 1st.
“If it doesn’t happen now, it will be this summer,” the former Celtic boss explains. “The most important thing is that he stays focused and wants to get better. I think he is handling (the speculation) well, because he is still young.
“Now, a decision has to be made and he has to do the best he can for us. I hope and think we will keep him until June. And then, he will be even more ready to leave.”
Of course, Tottenham can make themselves and Deila happy by agreeing to send Nusa back on loan to the Jupiler League outfit for the next few months. Some publications already indicated that may be the plan.
Nicknamed the ‘Norwegian Neymar’
Nusa, who has been labelled the ‘Norwegian Neymar’ by some was and hailed by Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard after exploding onto the international scene in 2023, is far from the finished article just yet. But, like Radu Dragusin, he can only benefit from honing his talents under an elite developer of young players in Postecoglou.
“(Moving to Tottenham) could be a good option for him,” Deila adds.
Nusa, who doesn’t turn 19 until April, has scored four goals and set up three more for Club Brugge in 2023/24. He would be another option for the wide roles in Postecoglou’s three-man frontline. His arrival may also free up Bryan Gil to depart.
HITC has been informed that Gil, seldom seen since his £21 million move from Sevilla, has been told he is free to follow Djed Spence and Eric Dier out the door.
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