Dutch forward, Noa Lang has been linked with Leeds United for the last year, as Victor Orta is said to have done a large amount of analysis on the player. There were even reports of a deal being ready to be completed last summer, only for Marcelo Bielsa to veto the move due to concerns over the 22-year-old's defensive application.
Lang himself has now confirmed those discussions in an interview in the Belgian media. The forward, who scored nine goals and assisted 15 in 21/22 said: "They were concrete, yes. Leeds made three offers. We even negotiated – they flew to the Netherlands."
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In the same interview, he also stated that he expected to leave Belgium in the summer, saying: "Believe me: Belgium will miss me when I'm gone. I gave your football colour. Next season you will pray that there will be a Noa Lang walking around in Belgium, who can also play football so well."
That has led to more speculation over whether Orta will return for the player that he liked so much last summer and without Bielsa here to veto any move. However, there are varying views on the attacker, as whilst he is undeniably talented, he has a reputation of having a bad attitude, highlighted by a clip of his ex-manager at Ajax, Erik ten Hag shouting 'shut up! This is our game, not yours,' after Lang had argued with his captain Dusan Tadic in only his second appearance for the Dutch giants.
He was allowed to leave shortly afterwards, despite being the first Ajax player in 60 years to score a hat-trick on their debut. Meanwhile, there was also an incident after Club Brugge won the Belgian title in 20/21, which saw Lang join in with Brugge fans as they sang an offensive chant about Anderlecht which contained an anti-Semitic nickname for the rival club.
Here's what others have said about the Dutch international:
Pierre Van Hooijdonk (former Dutch international)
"The quality just radiates from him. He reminds me of Robin Van Persie." - Speaking after one of Lang's early performances for the national team.
Rafael Van der Vaart (former Dutch international)
"He’s pretty much the play-maker from the left. Amazing to watch" - the former Spurs man was speaking after the same game.
Filip Joos (Belgian football analyst)
"He is currently the best player in the league, I think. Really, pure class." The analyst was speaking on the Belgian show 'Extra Time' after Lang starred in a 3-2 win over Genk in 2021.
Phillipe Clement (manager of Club Brugge until Jan 22)
"Noa always wants to give the maximum and I think he puts too much pressure on himself sometimes. He thinks he should be decisive in every game. That’s a small flaw that we have to correct to have a better second half of the season. You can’t be decisive every time. Even at Manchester City, [Phil] Foden, [Riyad] Mahrez and [Gabriel] Jesus can’t." Lang's former manager spoke about the high expectations the Dutchman holds himself too after he was sent off for two bookable offences in 2021.
He continued as he referenced Lang's behaviour where he had got into an altercation with an opponent to pick up a second yellow card: "I spoke to him about it. He also reacted to provocations at the beginning of the season, but he understood and stopped doing it. But he is still a 22-year-old player."
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