Club Brugge’s rising star Antonio Nusa was right to stay at the club and reject Chelsea this summer, as the Belgian club are good for his development.
That’s according to Norway coach Stale Solbakken, who believes the youngster would have been just another number at Stamford Bridge.
Nusa is one of the rising stars of European football, with a series of impressive performances for Brugge having earned him admirers.
Chelsea are one of them and made a move to try and sign him in the summer transfer window, offering a deal late into the summer to add him to their ever-expanding list of incomings.
The Blues have spent big money scooping up talent from around the world since Todd Boehly’s and Clearlake’s arrival at the club, preferring to spend on talent for the future rather than ready-made bonafide stars.
That’s a choice which is yet to pay off for them or the players, with several of those younger players currently out of favour under Mauricio Pochettino and failing to develop as hoped.
That’s not the case for Nusa, who is going from strength to strength at Brugge, something Solbakken is more than happy to see.
“Unfortunately, Antonio is now struggling with injuries, because he is a fantastic player,” he told Het Nieuwsblad.
“And say he’s only 18. I think we should be careful with predictions about such young players. The hype surrounding Antonio can already sometimes be called unhealthy, also in Norway.
“There are still areas to work on, such as his efficiency, but there is no doubt that he has the potential to reach the top.
“Antonio made the right choice. At Chelsea he would just be a number, while now he mainly has to play. That is possible in Bruges.”
