Arsenal scout exciting European talent - who Chelsea had £23m bid rejected for: report

Mikel Arteta
(Image credit: Getty)

Arsenal continue to look for players to improve their squad from across Europe, and one exciting talent is currently on the radar. 

Despite winning their opening Champions League game 4-0 against PSV on Wednesday night, Arsenal will reportedly send scouts to Belgium to track Club Brugge forward Antonio Nusa on Thursday night, as the Belgian side take on Besiktas in the Europa Conference League.

According to The Express, Arsenal scouts will be keeping a close eye on the forward, who Chelsea reportedly had a £23m bid rejected for towards the end of the transfer window in August.

Nusa Antonio forward of Club Brugge in action during the Jupiler Pro League match between Club Brugge and Sporting Charleroi at the Jan Breydel stadium on September 16, 2023 in Brugge, Belgium, 16/09/2023 ( Photo by Nico Vereecken / Photo News via Getty Images)

Arsenal are sending scouts to watch Antonio Nusa (Image credit: Getty Images)

Chelsea scouts are also expected to be in attendance at the match, with Manchester United also watching Nusa, too.

The 18-year-old has impressed clubs across Europe after his breakthrough season in 2022/23, which included a goal in the Champions League group stages against Porto when he was still only 17.

A promising winger who hails from Norway, Nusa has drawn comparisons with Neymar due to his silky dribbling skills, and has already bagged two goals and made two assists in Belgium's top flight this season.

Georgia's defender #18 Vladimer Mamuchashvili (L) and Norway's forward #20 Antonio Nusa vie for the ball during the EURO 2024 first round group A qualifying football match between Norway and Georgia in Oslo on September 12, 2023. (Photo by Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP) / Norway OUT (Photo by FREDRIK VARFJELL/NTB/AFP via Getty Images)

Nusa made his Norway debut in the September internationals (Image credit: Getty Images)

Nusa even earned his first national team call-up earlier this month, scoring an assisting in a 6-0 friendly win against Jordan before contributing two vital assists in Norway's 2-1 victory over Georgia in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. 

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has even spoken highly of his fellow countryman, suggesting his potential could develop into something even better.

He’s an incredibly exciting player," Odegaard told TV2. "You see it, every time he gets the ball, it’s exciting. He is still young and will get even better. It was cool to see him.

“He deserved to get the chance that he takes it to such an extent. Incredibly cool.” 

Valued at just £3.5m by Transfermarkt, it is expected Arsenal will need to pay at least £30m to sign the young forward. 

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The Arsenal manager has had to defend Havertz already this season, notably after the 2-2 draw against Fulham.

Meanwhile, Brentford striker Ivan Toney has revealed he would be interested in a move to Arsenal in future.

Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.