Leeds United’s pursuit of Club Brugge and Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere has been given new life, with the Pro League club preferring to move the 21-year-old on to Elland Road rather than Serie A champions Milan.
That is according to Dean Jones, who was speaking to GiveMeSport about Leeds’ potential transfer business for the remainder of the window.
It has been a chaotic summer to say the least for Jesse Marsch’s side, with the club welcoming six new arrivals during the window, whilst major assets Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips have departed for Barcelona and Manchester City respectively for around a combined £100m.
But the club may have been offered a transfer boost, with the Whites reportedly ready to pounce on a move for De Ketelaere after Milan’s bid of £27m for the forward failed to meet Brugge’s valuation, according to the Daily Mail.
The same report suggests that Leeds have reportedly bid £31m, but the sticking point is that the player’s preference is a move to the San Siro rather than Elland Road.
However, Jones believes that the Belgian side may be losing patience with the Italian giants, and this could pave the way for the Whites to swoop.
He said: “Leeds definitely like the player and, from what I understand, Brugge are getting towards the stage where they’d actually rather do business with Leeds than AC Milan now because they feel the deal would suit them better and could be done more seamlessly.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
We believe that De Ketelaere would be a major coup for Marsch and Leeds, but the club will need to work out how realistic a transfer is at this stage.
Whilst Brugge might be happier to negotiate with the Elland Road club, it may be a struggle to get the deal over the line if the eight-time Belgium international is not interested in a move.
We believe that it is in Leeds’ best interests to work out where De Ketelaere stands on the transfer so that the club can move on to other targets if he is simply not interested in a move to Yorkshire this summer.
Nothing new in this article. Boring