It’s funny how quickly things can change in the transfer rumour mill, as something said a few months ago can easily no longer apply.
A great example of this is the pursuit of Noa Lang, as many clubs in Europe have taken notice of the Dutchman’s talent on the field, including Arsenal.
The rumours started around September of last year, when the Dutch and Belgian media started to unite, at a time when Leeds United were also said to be interested alongside the Gunners.
Milan were present in the race to acquire the winger too, and it now appears that the Serie A side have overtaken the competition, and are the favourites to land Lang going forward.
Gazzetta dello Sport have a big article on the matter on Tuesday, looking at the players the Italian team could gift themselves should they win the league, with the Club Brugge star ‘ready to take off’ and ‘preparing to seize the opportunity’.
Preferring to focus on younger players, Milan would turn to the 22-year-old for the right hand side of their attack, which is a task that ‘does not scare’ Lang, ‘who has always been fascinated by the Rossoneri colours’ and is ‘already convinced by the project’ the Italians are putting together.
Other teams are keen, with Arsenal named among them, but it’s made clear ‘the trust placed by Milan in young people’, as well as the aforementioned intrigue, means a move to the Serie A side ‘seduces him more than the others’.
We’ll have to see what the Gunners have up their sleeve, but it was once reported the player had a ‘clear preference’ for a move to the Emirates over Milan.Whether those were just empty words, only time will tell, but if they weren’t, then something has changed.
Perhaps the fact Milan are currently top of Serie A might have something to do with it, although Arsenal’s return to form certainly cannot be ignored, and they might still have a chance going forward.
If the Gunners do intend on trying to sign him, the cost would be of around €25m, but Gazzetta reckon an agreement could be reached for €20m + a few bonuses.
Brugge, while knowing he is a star for them, would find a fee of that magnitude hard to refuse, as they would be making a considerable profit from the €6m or so they used to get him from Ajax.
One to keep an eye on.
