Leicester holding talks with £25m Belgian star
The transfer window is almost upon us which means the time for speculation over who could be coming and going from the King Power Stadium before the new season is here.
It could be a busy few months for City as Brendan Rodgers has spoken of the need for a summer refresh of his squad. The City boss has said that ‘five or six’ new signings could be made in the summer transfer window.
The club are specifically targeting a centre-back, attacking midfielder and right winger. But they also have eyes on other areas of the squad that they could also improve. One name who keeps being mentioned is Belgium international Charles De Ketelaere.
The 21-year-old has just arrived on international duty with the Belgian Red Devils, where he will train and play alongside Youri Tielemans and Timothy Castagne over the next couple of weeks.
The player has been linked with a move to City since the January window. With that in mind, here’s a round-up of the latest situation regarding De Ketelaere…
Italian Champions AC Milan are now said to be interested in a move, according to reports in Italy. Mercato report (via journalist Sacha Tavolieri) that There is interest from the Italian giants, although there is yet to be an offer from the club.
The report also states that while Club Brugge were looking for a price of around €40m in the January window, that has now reduced to €25-30m.
However, another journalist, Alexandre Braeckman, who has been reporting City’s interest in the forward, claims that City are still showing the ‘most concrete’ interest in the player. It is also said that before they can make a move AC Milan need to finalise a takeover of the club.
Leicester City are reportedly set to make their first offer for Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere ahead of the summer transfer window.
City have been credited with an interest in the 21-year-old since the January transfer window and are said to have renewed their interest ahead of the summer
Now it seems that the Foxes will make their first official bid for the young striker. That is according to journalist Ekrem Konur who says Leicester City are “planning” to test the waters with a preliminary bid of €30 million (£25.8m).
Leicester City have a ‘clear advantage’ in the race for Charles De Ketelaere. Aforementioned reports by Konur about a bid from the Foxes have been backed up by Belgian journalist Alexandre Braeckman , who reports contact between City and Brugges over the player.
“Slowly, but surely Leicester have started informal exchanges with the #ClubBrugge for Charles De Ketelaere,” he wrote on Twitter. “They hope to lower the price a little in the next few weeks (Bruges hopes for 40M € ). The player is interested in the challenge.
“#Leicester is the only club to have formally come forward so far,” he added. “AC Milan plans to do the same soon. But the situation does not change: Leicester have a clear advantage on this file. End of contract in 2024 for De Ketelaere.”
