Antonio Nusa: Rising From Setback to Stardom at RB Leipzig
The last year has been "heavy on the mind" for Antonio Nusa, the 19-year-old Norwegian winger who has emerged as one of European football's brightest young talents.
In January 2024, Nusa—then at Club Brugge—stood on the precipice of a Premier League move to Brentford. A Champions League goalscorer at 17 and already a Norwegian international at 18, the London club seemed the perfect stepping stone for a career clearly destined for the top.
Then, unexpectedly, everything fell apart. Brentford pulled out of the deal at the last moment, creating an uncertainty that threatened to derail a career that had, until then, progressed with remarkable linearity.
"It was a strange, strange time," Nusa tells The Athletic. "First of all, my priority was my fitness and being able to sort that out. To find out what the problem was. In the end, there was no problem. I got everything checked out and then refocused."
The aborted transfer took its toll on the teenager: "For a young player—I was 18 at that time—of course it was difficult to deal with stuff you haven't experienced before. And it took some time. I cannot say it was easy, but I got over it. I think it made me stronger."
Nusa relied on family and friends during this difficult period. His immediate priority was regaining fitness, but he also faced the challenge of blocking out the negativity surrounding him—something he'd never encountered before in his young career.
"In football you need to experience those things to see what they're like and to see if you can handle them," he says. "And I feel like I handled that well. Maybe I grew from it? And I'm very happy where I am now, so I cannot complain about that."
The "now" Nusa refers to is RB Leipzig. After the collapse of interest from England—and Brentford weren't the only Premier League club eyeing the winger—Leipzig moved quietly to secure his signature for €21million (£17.6m; $22.9m) in August 2024. The lack of fanfare surrounding the deal reflected how the market for Nusa had softened, a direct consequence of the failed Brentford transfer.
But Leipzig were convinced of his talent, and their faith has been rewarded. Nusa has accumulated over 1,400 minutes in the Bundesliga during his debut season, contributing three goals and three assists while displaying the technical flair that has helped rehabilitate his reputation. He featured in all of Leipzig's Champions League fixtures until a minor knee injury against St Pauli in February temporarily halted his progress.
Though the injury was relatively minor—with a return expected by the end of March—the psychological wounds from the Brentford saga ran deeper. During his final months in Belgium, Nusa's confidence visibly suffered, resulting in conservative, inhibited performances that saw him leave the Pro League with little momentum.
The importance of his strong start in Germany, he explains, was less about proving others wrong and more about rebuilding his own self-belief.
"I definitely felt like I had a point to prove," he says. "There were so many questions around my fitness and over whether I was able to play, or if I could do anything last year. I can't focus on that too much and I don't give too much energy to it, but it feels good playing the amount of games I have and taking this step as a player. It felt good, but it's not my focus."
He continues: "It's mostly for myself, so that I know that I can do it. Maybe (last year) put a little bit of doubt inside of me, so proving that to myself has been the best part. Now I know: OK, it's no stress, so keep moving forward."
Nusa's football development has been characterized by a forward-looking perspective from an early age. At 13, he joined Stabaek in his hometown, though the commute from his home south of Oslo—requiring both train and bus journeys—meant he could only train with the academy twice weekly.
Rather than hindering his progress, this limitation fostered independence and creativity. When not training formally, Nusa would study YouTube compilations of players he admired—Neymar above all—before taking those skills to local pitches, mastering them through repetition, and adapting them to his own style.
This self-directed approach to development remains integral to his approach today.
"Those were the people I looked up to when I was a child," he says. "When I was at home or at school, I had my computer and I was not really paying attention to class. You want to try to be like them and to play like them. That brought me a lot of joy when I was younger. Even now just watching football—I love it. It's my passion. It's my happy place."
Nusa's obsession with football consumes much of his life. He tells The Athletic that he spent most of the week watching Champions League matches, often multi-screening to follow several games simultaneously. While he enjoys UFC—both as a spectator and playing with friends on PlayStation—football dominates his horizon.
Life in Leipzig, where he lives with his girlfriend, suits him well. Though Marco Rose's team isn't enjoying its best season—currently outside the Bundesliga's top four despite reaching the DFB-Pokal semi-finals—it has proven the ideal environment for Nusa's development, even if this path was partially dictated by circumstances.
"It's been amazing for me and I've really grown as a player," he says. "I've played positions I've never played before. Growing up, I was always a left-sided attacker, but being versatile is a valuable skill in football nowadays, so I'm trying to improve my game on the right. It's a work in progress to be comfortable, but I feel like I've had the right help and support."
One benefit of Leipzig is that Nusa isn't carrying the burden of being the team's standout talent. He shares the spotlight with other young stars like Benjamin Sesko (21), Xavi Simons (21), and Lois Openda (25)—the latter having finished last season with 24 Bundesliga goals and seven assists.
Though the 2024-25 campaign has been challenging for everyone at the club—with injuries and confidence issues reflected in the team's form and Rose's position potentially under threat—the squad remains filled with talent Nusa can relate to.
"A lot of guys are at the same time in their career," he says, "and I think maybe we help each other. You have people who are the same age as you doing the same thing, so we understand each other's situations. We're doing this together and it's fun to be able to be part of their journey as well."
Nusa's journey carries additional significance as one of Norway's great football hopes. He'll be central to their quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup—a tournament the nation hasn't participated in since 1998.
His return to form has shifted conversations back to football and his potential ceiling in the game, but with that comes the inevitable return of expectation and pressure. Far from being concerned, Nusa welcomes these heightened expectations.
"It's good to have expectation. When you're playing at a higher level, you get more and so you must try to embrace it. I kind of enjoy it, I think. And if you're doing something right, people will talk about you anyway."
