PSV confirm sales of wingers Johan Bakayoko and Noa Lang for around €50 million

PSV Eindhoven confirmed the sales of their wingers Johan Bakayoko and Noa Lang on Thursday. Bakayoko finalized a transfer to German club RB Leipzig for a reported fee of 18 million euros with 4 million euros in add-ons as the final fee, while Noa Lang has signed for SSC Napoli in Italy for a fee believed to be around 30 million euros.

It continues PSV's busy summer in which many position within the team will change. Bakayoko and Lang are the third first team started to be sold after Malik Tillman finalized a transfer to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. The team's former captain, Luuk de Jong, has also not yet made a decision regarding his future at the club.

The Eindhoven club also announced their sixth signing of the summer on Thursday. Alassane Plea will join the club from Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany. Plea has signed a three-year contract at the club, costing the Eindhoven club three million euros in the process.

He is the Eindhoven club’s sixth signing of the summer after Kiliann Sildillia, Yarek Gasiorowski, Nick Olij, Matej Kovar, and Ruben van Bommel.

“These have been the most special years of my life thus far,” Bakayoko said on PSV’s website. “I was shaped here as a player and definitely as a person. Alongside the highs, there were also lows that taught me a lot and made me stronger. Now, after six years at PSV, I feel ready for the next step, and this opportunity at RB Leipzig is a wonderful one.”

PSV’s director of football, Earnest Stewart, had mixed feelings about Bakayoko’s departure. “Johan is a player who has meant a lot to PSV. On the other hand, this is a great opportunity for him, and we wholeheartedly wish him well," said Stewart. "He also serves as an inspiration for other players from the PSV Academy."

Bakayoko arrived at PSV’s youth academy in 2019 when he was 16 years old. He made his first team debut in the 2021-22 season and played a total of 131 games for the first team, scoring 33 goals during this time.

The Belgian winger won two league titles, two KNVB Cups, and two Johan Cruyff Schaal’s during his time in Eindhoven. He will be joining a Leipzig side that finished 7th, missing out on European football in the process.

Lang's time at PSV was significantly shorter than that. A former Ajax youth prospect, the Oranje international joined PSV in the summer of 2023. He won the Eredivisie title in both season's at the club, as well a Johan Cruijff Schaal.

"After two seasons with two titles, it’s time to take the next step. I am grateful to everyone inside and around the club who has supported me from day one," Lang said in a PSV press release.

Stewart also praised Lang's impact at the club on the official website. “Noa is an unpredictable player who can open a game up or decide it at any moment,” said PSV’s director of football. “For PSV, he was worth his weight in gold, and off the pitch, we came to know him as a very social guy who fit in well with the group. We will miss Noa, but we wholeheartedly support this great transfer. We thank him for everything and wish him all the best for the future.”