Journalist Conor McGilligan has expressed his disappointment as Leeds United now look unlikely to sign Charles De Ketelaere.
Of late, it had looked as though the Belgian could end up in the Premier League, with the Whites heavily linked with a possible summer transfer.
However, according to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, Milan have now opened talks with Club Brugge over a possible deal, initially offering €20m (£17.2m) plus bonuses for De Ketelaere.
In response to this latest update, McGilligan took to Twitter to say that ‘unfortunately’ he believes a move for the 21-year-old is now out of reach for Leeds.
He wrote: “Milan are now in direct contract and CDK [Charles De Ketelaere] wants that move, even if their offer is originally low – you’d expect them to reach common ground.
“I’d check CDK off, unfortunately.”
Will Charles De Ketelaere end up at Leeds this summer?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Charles De Ketelaere and Leeds…
Milan have just come off the back of a campaign where they managed to win the Serie A title for the first time in 11 years. With that in mind, you can see why a move to Italy may be more appealing than a switch to Leeds – who just avoided relegation on the final day of the past season.
And now, with a bid reportedly being tabled for the Belgian, Milan and Brugge are clearly having serious talks about the player. However, that offer has been refused, so the door is still open for Leeds to swoop if a fee can’t be agreed.
But with Milan now seemingly leading the race, it’s not hard to see why McGilligan is feeling pretty pessimistic about the Whites’ chances of signing De Ketelaere this summer.