Leeds United remain interested in a deal to bring Noa Lang to Elland Road in the January transfer window.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Voetbal Belgie, who claim that, despite the continued interest of the Whites and West Ham United, the Club Brugge KV winger would prefer a move to Italy this winter, with AC Milan and Atalanta BC believed to be keen on a move for the 23-year-old.

This is not the first time Victor Orta has been reported to be interested in a move for the Netherlands international, with Leeds having been linked with the €25m (£22m) valued forward ever since their return to the Premier League back in 2020.

De Ketelaere repeat

With Orta having already missed out on another of his Club Brugge transfer targets, Charles De Ketelaere, to AC Milan in the summer transfer window, the news that Lang now also favours a move to Italy ahead of one to Leeds in January undoubtedly represents something of a nightmare for the Whites' director of football.

However, considering just how underwhelming Lang has been for Brugge this season, should Orta go on to miss out on the 23-year-old this winter, it could well be something of a blessing in disguise for the Spaniard.

Indeed, over his 11 Jupiler Pro League appearances - only three of which have come as starts - this season, the £16.2m-rated talent has been far from his free-flowing best, scoring just one goal, providing two assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.9 shots, making 0.9 key passes and completing 0.8 dribbles per game.

These returns have seen the £25k-per-week winger average a SofaScore match rating of 6.94, currently ranking him as Brugge's 13th-best performer in the top flight of Belgian football.

The 23-year-old also failed to impress over his two appearances in the Champions League, failing to score, providing no assists and missing one big chance, with these metrics seeing the five-cap international average a SofaScore match rating of 6.75 - once again ranking him as his club's 13th-best performer in the competition.

Furthermore, with Jesse Marsch currently possessing a wealth of young attacking talent in the form of Crysencio Summerville, Sonny Perkins, Joe Gelhart and Mateo Joseph, the signing of Lang would likely stunt the growth of a number of the Whites' most exciting youth prospects.

As such, missing out on the winger in January would not appear to be a bad thing for the Premier League side whatsoever, as not only would Lang fail to represent a noticeable upgrade on the Whites' current attacking options, but his signing would also cause a blockage in the pathway from U21s to first-team football at Elland Road.