‘That’s his plan’: Manager shares what £20m star is thinking as Leeds reportedly plan bid

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Reported £20 million Leeds United target Noa Lang will make a decision on his future at the end of the season, Club Brugge manager Philippe Clement has told Het Nieuwsblad. 

Since summer 2017, Club Brugge have sold four players to Premier League clubs. 

And, following a dazzling debut season in the Belgian top flight, Dutch U21 Lang may be about to follow in the footsteps of Wesley Moraes, Marvelous Nakamba, Arnaut Danjuma and Jose Izquierdo. 

Leeds, of course, will hope the former Ajax youngster can do better than the aforementioned quartet. 

Jupiler League exports haven’t exactly dazzled in English football after all, although Lang certainly has the talent and potential to buck that trend. 

After producing ten assists and 16 largely spectacular goals at Brugge, The Telegraph reports the one-time Ajax record-breaker could join Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds in a £20 million deal. 

And it seems Lang and Clement are on the same page as the Rotterdam-born 21-year-old faces up to what could be a career-defining summer. 

“Not long ago I had a chat with Lang. I told him one thing – don’t think about your future until after the season. And he has confirmed to me that’s his plan too,” Clement explains. 

“Noa himself says it’s the first time in his career that he plays so many matches in one season in short succession. That’s why he needs all his energy on the field now.  

“First win the Championship with the team, then think. I think that’s a very mature attitude for such a young guy.” 

“Very mature” are two words that haven’t always been used to describe a player who was deemed a divisive figure at Ajax, with his outspoken style leading to a fall-out with manager Erik ten Hag. 

That came despite Lang becoming the first player in 60 years to score a hat-trick on his Eredivisie debut in Ajax colours, in December 2019.

It would be interesting to see how Lang, a brazen individualist who makes Zlatan Ibrahimovic look humble, would adapt to life under a disciplinarian like Bielsa.