Scott McTominay’s future Napoli teammate “left” one of his former clubs after a disagreement with ex-Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.
Napoli won Serie A last season under Antonio Conte, with McTominay winning the division’s MVP award in his first season with the club. Along with former Chelsea players Billy Gilmour and Romelu Lukaku, the Scot played a key role in Napoli’s success, as Conte unleashed his attacking potential rarely seen at Manchester United.
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But while the Italian mainly shopped in the Premier League last summer, this time he has changed his approach somewhat.
In addition to the free transfer of Kevin De Bruyne from Manchester City, Conte has also brought in young centre-back Luca Marianucci from Empoli.
And his next signing, according to Fabrizio Romano, looks set to be Dutch winger Noa Lang from PSV.
The 26-year-old will at least partially fill the void left by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s transfer to PSV in January.
Lang previously played for Ajax before making the controversial move to arch-rivals PSV – although these periods were interrupted by a two-year stay at Belgian club Club Brugge.
He made just nine appearances for Ajax’s first team, scoring three goals, before leaving the club, initially on loan at Club Brugge.
Ten Hag unhappy with Lang’s attitude
Erik ten Hag was not happy with Noa Lang’s attitude in a cup match for Ajax. He was loaned out a month later.
In 2019, Lang was labelled a “troublemaker” by Ten Hag, he claimed himself, after an altercation with teammate Dusan Tadic during a Dutch Cup match.
He was loaned to Brugge the following season, with the transfer made permanent in 2021.
Felt forced to leave Ajax
Lang said he felt he had no choice but to leave Ajax after he sent several text messages to Ten Hag asking for clarification about his role in the team – without receiving a response.
The Dutchman revealed that the future United boss didn’t even wish him the best of luck at his new club.
In a 2023 documentary about his career, Lang said,
“I can show you the text messages. I sent Ten Hag texts from the Bible and said, ‘You should just let me go, just stop demoting me.'”
“He also didn’t wish me luck or anything after that. Not even a text message, nothing at all.”
“I just took my bag at Ajax, put all my football boots in it and said I’m not coming here anymore. In my heart, I wanted to stay at Ajax, but my head said I had to leave.”
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