Whelan: Leeds must act quickly to sign Lang as £6m deal agreed
Noel Whelan insists Leeds United can’t afford to wait as they look to bring in fresh faces this summer.
The former Whites hitman, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, was reacting to the latest on Noa Lang’s future.
In May, Football Insider revealed Leeds had scheduled talks with Lang after an impressive season in Belgium.
Lang, 21, is on loan at Brugge from Ajax and scored 17 goals and supplied 11 assists as the club won the Jupiler Pro League.
It is understood Lang will sign for Brugge for £6million in July but that will not stop top clubs across Europe, including Leeds, trying to sign him.
Whelan claims Leeds can’t wait until July to hear an answer over Lang’s future as getting new faces in before pre-season is vital.
“It’s important to have players in as soon as possible,” Whelan told Football Insider assistant editor Russell Edge.
“You need to integrate them into the training camp as quickly as possible so they can learn the style of play.
“They need to know what’s required of them. So much detail goes into that now. They need to meet their teammates and get settled before the start of the season.
“The last thing you want is someone coming in two weeks before the start of the season. Someone who hasn’t joined in with pre-season.
“As a manager, you want your squad sorted and your targets in as quickly as possible.
“So you can go straight into coaching them and integrating them when pre-season starts.”
Lang enjoyed a prolific season, picking up 17 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.
Leeds’ Patrick Bamford also scored 17 goals in all competitions during the recently concluded season.
In other news, Leeds United tipped to launch new bid after EFL swap offer knocked back.