The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered an update on Leeds United’s pursuit of Club Brugge starlet Noa Lang in this summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to recent reports from The Telegraph, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have been been watching the 21-year-old, although they are set to face intense competition to try and land him.

And now, writing on Twitter, Hay said: “They like Lang and that’s a genuine link but they haven’t actually made a concrete move for him.”

The journalist did however leave the door open to a potential move for a new winger later on in the transfer window though, by adding: “Hard to say. It’s been floated all summer but was always a case of doing it if the right option came up at the right price.”

Bielsa would love him

Able to play anywhere across the frontline, Lang has shown he has a real eye for goal in his loan spell at Brugge last season, bagging 17 goals and providing a further 11 assists in just 37 games, including netting in the Champions League.

With the volume of goals and assists that Lang delivered last season, and with him still being very much in the infancy of his career, a move for the youngster would surely be the kind of exciting one that has Bielsa buzzing.

Called a “phenomenon” by Belgian journalist Peter Vandenbempt, the winger made history when he became the first player in 60 years to mark his debut with a hat-trick for Ajax, while his teammate at Brugge, Cyriel Dessers, has insisted that Lang is ready to shine in English football, even backing Leeds’ interest in him.

He said: “He is absolutely ready for the Premier League. He was fantastic last season. Then it is logical that there is a next step.  I would love to see him in the Champions League with Club Brugge, but he has shown that he is one of the best footballers in Belgium.

“He is a graceful footballer, but he also works very hard. I often sat on the bench, so I could keep an eye on him there. But the way he works, I didn’t know he had that in him. He has really taken a step. The interest does not come out of nowhere. I know how Leeds work.”

Victor Orta should be pulling out the chequebook and making a move for the £19.8m-rated Lang before the close of the transfer window this summer.

With his versatility, end product and willingness to work hard too, Lang fits the Bielsa bill to an absolute tee, and the Leeds boss would surely love to have him at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay reveals Leeds United’s summer transfer plans…