Arsenal ‘very interested’ in signing superb Liverpool target; he rejected Chelsea this summer

Arsenal are reportedly poised to rival Chelsea and Liverpool for Club Brugge winger Antonio Nusa, who was ‘glad’ not to join Chelsea this summer.

The 18-year-old is widely considered to be one of the most exciting young attackers in Europe at the moment and has attracted the interest of plenty of big clubs.

Nusa made the switch to Club Brugge in 2021. He has since made 46 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals and making three assists in the process.

The winger also earned himself a call-up to the Norway national team earlier this year, so there is certainly no doubting his quality.

As previously reported by TEAMtalk, Chelsea made enquiries about signing Nusa on a permanent deal this summer but were unable to agree a deal with Club Brugge.

It now seems, however, that Nusa had no intention of making the switch to Stamford Bridge regardless.

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Nusa snubbed Chelsea move this summer

According to Gaute Larsen, who was Nusa’s manager at his former club Stabaek, the youngster decided to remain at Club Brugge instead of joining Chelsea this summer as he wants consistent first-team minutes.

“I was very close to him, especially in his last year at Stabæk,” Larsen said.

“Because he could not yet drive a car and there was no public transport due to the corona pandemic, I picked him up every day for five months so that he could train and play with the first team. Then I got to know him very well. Even now we are still in touch often.”

When discussing the approach made by Mauricio Pochettino’s side, Larsen explained: “I said that he should still stay at Club Brugge. And he wanted that too, especially now that he plays more.”

“There’s no hurry. I told him that there will be offers again in January or next summer, because big clubs all over the world are following him.”

Arsenal ‘very interested’ in signing Nusa

It seems that Larsen was correct about their being more offers for Nusa in the future, as Arsenal seem determined to sign him as soon as possible.

According to Belgian outlet Voetbalkrant, Arsenal are ‘very interested’ in signing the youngster. The London club are aware that they have a fight on their hands, though, with Liverpool, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, AS Monaco and Lyon also in the race.

Nusa is under contract at Club Brugge until 2027, so they are under no immediate pressure to sell him. Arsenal may, therefore, have to stump up a sizeable fee to sign Nusa in January.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if the Gunners do make a concrete bid early in the January window to beat the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea to his signature.

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