Fabrizio Romano has given some insight into how close Tottenham really came to signing Antonio Nusa as he now closes in on a transfer to Brentford instead.
The exciting young Norway international had been discussed by Spurs, according to Romano, but it seems these talks never got particularly advanced and a deal was never actually that close, despite what had been reported by some other sources.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Romano provided details on the structure of Brentford’s deal for Nusa, who will move for a fee of around €30million, though he will remain with Club Brugge until the end of the season, joining the Bees in the summer.
“Despite interest from Chelsea back in the summer, and more recently from Tottenham, Antonio Nusa to Brentford is almost agreed. A deal is in place over a €30m package. The player has also given the green light to the move, which will see him stay at Club Brugge until the end of the season and then join Brentford in June,” Romano said.
Antonio Nusa celebrates a goal for Club Brugge
“Tottenham were also in talks over Nusa for a long time but the truth is they were never really close to getting it done. Brentford now have a verbal agreement in place and they hope to get it signed very soon, but in any case the deal is valid from July as Nusa wants to complete the move in the summer and not now.”
Tottenham fans may well be disappointed as Nusa looks a superb young talent with a big future in the game, but it will be interesting to see what kind of impact he can make at Brentford, where he should surely get a lot of chances to play regularly in their first-team, which might not have been guaranteed if he’d joined Spurs instead.