PSV Eindhoven’s Noa Lang was of interest to Leeds United when he was at Club Brugge.
The Netherlands international’s stepfather, Nordin Boukhari, is an assistant manager at Sparta Rotterdam.
He was a guest on ESPN NL’s Goedemorgen Eredivisie to discuss Lang and Voetbal Zone have relayed his comments. During the course of the discussion, Boukhari opened up about the failed move to Leeds.
The 25-year-old is a product of Ajax’s academy and moved to Club Brugge initially on loan in 2022. His stay there was made permanent a year later and they sold him to PSV two years ago.
During his time at the Jupiler Pro League club, the Whites and AC Milan wanted to secure the winger’s services. Boukhari was hoping for his stepson to join either the English club or the Serie A side.
Boukhari mentioned Leeds and Milan when ESPN NL’s presenter Milan van Dongen asked him why Lang hasn’t fulfilled his potential yet.
“It is indeed a correlation with fitness. I expected him to be abroad a bit earlier. AC Milan and Leeds were interested during his time at Club Brugge,” he said.
“With Noa, when he’s 100%, he dribbles past everyone. But when things aren’t going well, he wants to win so badly that his behaviour provokes reactions. I once said to Hans [Kraay Jr]: ‘Those reactions only motivate him.’ It is a kind of energy source for him.”
Hans Kraay Jr was part of the panel and asked Boukhari whether he urges Lang to focus only on football.
“I often told him: ‘Stop those gestures and just focus on playing football, because you’re really good at that.’ The action against Alderweireld that he stands on the ball is not smart. Do that when you’re 3-0 up. You have to expect to get a kick, because people get annoyed by that. You see that with Neymar too. Messi, for example, hardly ever does that,” Boukhari explained.
The Dutchman managed 38 goals and 34 assists 125 games for Club Brugge. The Whites showed interest in Lang when Marcelo Bielsa was in charge at Leeds.
In June 2022, Lang had confirmed Leeds made multiple offers for him in 2021 but weren’t able to complete the operation.
