ESPN analyst points to ‘outspoken Ajax fan despite past at PSV’: ‘Getting more and more convinced’

In the summer of 2025, Noa Lang left PSV after two seasons to continue his career at Napoli. Largely due to a strained relationship with coach Antonio Conte, Lang’s adventure in Italy did not go as hoped, and therefore in 2026 he was loaned out to Galatasaray.

With Conte's departure from Napoli, it seemed as though the former PSV player in Naples was in line for a new opportunity. Now it seems Lang is open to a return to Ajax, as ESPN analyst Thijs Zwagerman knows.

According to Zwagerman, the winger has unfinished business with the Amsterdam club since Lang, after his debut in 2019, never managed to break through in Amsterdam and in the summer of 2020 was loaned to Club Brugge, which took him over permanently in 2021 and sold him to PSV in the summer of 2023. At Ajax, the former PSV player should become the successor to the Belgian Mika Godts.

Godts is in the spotlight in particular for Paris Saint-Germain, and a transfer is therefore not out of the question. ''We have been told that there is concrete interest. For a while now. Ajax made its interest known weeks ago already, with the idea that something could happen around Mika Godts,'' says Zwagerman in the ESPN program Tekengeld.

Yet a return to Ajax was not the wing attacker’s first choice, as Zwagerman knows. ''At first, he seemed to consider other options. In the meantime, he has become increasingly convinced of Ajax’s plan. There has already been a conversation with Jordi Cruijff'', the analyst continues.

Zwagerman believes there is a chance that Lang will return to Amsterdam. ''Ajax will for him still feel like unfinished business as well. Lang is, of course, an outspoken Ajax supporter, despite his past at PSV and Feyenoord. He has never really broken through at Ajax. Those are elements that could make it a good fit. Ajax has confidence that it can bring this deal to a successful conclusion.''

In addition, there is also the question of whether it will be a definitive purchase or only a loan-to-buy transfer. ''Or possibly a rental with an option to buy, which would amount to 25 million under certain conditions and then become an obligation. At Ajax, there is confidence that it can be worked out. It is not yet a done deal, but it is clear that he is the dream successor of Godts'', said Zwagerman.