Antonio Nusa has been on a charge at RB Leipzig since his summer switch from Club Brugge. - © Lukas Schulze/Bundesliga

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Antonio Nusa following in the footsteps of legends of RB Leipzig past

19.11.2024

The ever-improving Antonio Nusa is currently loving life with RB Leipzig and Norway as the nimble-footed 19-year-old takes significant steps towards the top of the game.

The big names to have emerged from Saxony-based side and Bundesliga regulars Leipzig over recent years flow freely from the tongue, with Nusa arriving at the Red Bull Arena in the summer to take the No.7 shirt from one such star, departing UEFA Euro 2024 winner Dani Olmo.

In his 10 top-flight games since stepping into those significant boots, the Norway attacker has had a hand in three goals that ultimately all led to victories for Marco Rose's early title challengers. He has also been hitting the headlines with Norway, netting alongside Erling Haaland to help the Scandinavian nation rise up the European rankings.

Watch: Nusa begins with a bang at Leipzig

Things are happening quickly for the talented teenager, who recently switched to the Bundesliga having twice lifted the domestic championship in Belgium with Club Brugge. Nusa had barely landed in Leipzig when he scored on his debut in a DFB Cup first-round win against Rot-Weiss Essen. A week later, he netted on his German top-flight bow as Die Roten Bullen opened their title tilt with a 1-0 victory against Bochum.

"What made me the happiest was seeing how happy my teammates were for me," Nusa - who also scored on his Norway and UEFA Champions League debuts - told his new club's official website in those first seven days at his new home. "Of course, I want to keep playing this way and score even more goals," he added.

Sure enough, by Matchday 5, Nusa was a first-team regular under Rose, the coach whom the youngster credited with "making Erling Haaland great" (Rose oversaw some of the current Manchester City forward's progress while in charge of Borussia Dortmund).

In focus: Nusa (l.) has displayed a breadth of skills in his opening months in the Bundesliga. - DFL/Getty Images/Lukas Schulze

Once telling Norwegian media that, "I like to create chaos,” the former Stabæk youth is living up to his words some years later. With the ability to play on either flank, Nusa can be hard to nail down, a slippery, twinkle-toed runner with eye-catching close control. He has so far made the most dribbles at Leipzig (19), prevailing in 63 per cent of those, while his 10 shots on goal and attempted 11 assists tell a tale of a player hungry to make a key difference in games.

To Bundesliga's champions Bayer Leverkusen's ire, he was there to tee up Loïs Openda to score RBL's match-winner in the 3-2 come-from-behind victory on Matchday 2. Heidenheim would befall a similar fate, with the scheming Nusa pulling the strings.

"I think that I can already create very good space on the pitch for the team with my actions," he recently explained. "I've been working on perfecting ball control my whole life. But there's room for improvement here too."

Watch: Nusa tees up Loïs Openda Leipzig's winning strike against Leverkusen

Nusa is not waiting around, with improvements coming game by game. During the latest international break, he took his national team goals total to four in 13 games, scoring with three eye-catching strikes in two outings as Norway won promotion to the top tier in the UEFA Nations League. Fans may be finding it difficult to rein in expectations with such talent on display, especially with Leipzig's much warranted reputation for nurturing stars.

Those that have come before the 19-year-old in Leipzig colours represent an array of class: Olmo, Christopher Nkunku, Timo Werner, Joshua Kimmich, Dominik Szoboszlai, Joško Gvardiol, Dayot Upamecano, Konrad Laimer, Ibrahima Konate ... a list that can be added to at length. Nusa is thus in fine company in his Saxony surroundings and with precocious, attacking teammates like Openda, Benjamin Šeško and Xavi Simons (on loan from Paris Saint-Germain) for company.

Nusa (l.) has hit it off with Norway's Erling Haaland (r.) at international level. - IMAGO/Terje Pedersen

Admitting that he's a little tired by the comparisons to Brazilian star Neymar, Nusa admits that because the former Barcelona player, "was my role model when I was a kid," he may not be entirely blameless for the occasional media name-checks. "I'm not a new Neymar, even when I take that as a big compliment. I just want to be me," Nusa said.

For now, revelling in the shirt vacated by Leipzig fan favourite Olmo is a fate Nusa is taking a shine to. "Dani Olmo is an extraordinary player who achieved plenty with this club. Fans should be able to continue to associate the No. 7 with magic on the pitch," Leipzig's latest wunderkind concluded.