Two Premier League clubs set to bid for De Ketelaere
AC Milan attacking midfielder Charles De Ketelaere has attracted serious interest from Leicester City and Brighton.
During the summer, AC Milan spent more than one month in negotiations with Club Brugge for Charles De Ketelaere. The Rossoneri managed to secure the services of the talented 21-year-old attacking midfielder for a total fee of €35 million. De Ketelaere was tipped to follow in the footsteps of Kevin De Bruyne but his start to life in Italy has been a rather disappointing one.
The Belgian attacking midfielder has failed to find the back of the net in 27 appearances with the Italian champions. De Ketelaere records only one assist to his name. Despite the obvious talent, the Belgian has yet to find his foot in Serie A. Nevertheless, interest in Charles remains high especially from the Premier League.
According to reports, Leicester City and Brighton remain alert on De Ketelaere and are willing to offer AC Milan a similar fee to what the spent last summer. A figure in the €30 million region would be really tempting for the Rossoneri despite their insistence that Charles will be given another chance next season.
Officially, AC Milan continue to declare that the midfielder will stay at the club with the hope of repeating the same path of Rafael Leao or Sandro Tonali. Unofficially, the management has had serious doubts from the beginning if the player has the necessary mentality to face the pressure and succeed at a big club.
Italian journalist Luca Serafini, who is very close to AC Milan, confirms the rumored doubts on whether the player has what it takes to turn this situation around. “We have come up with many alter egos for De Ketelaere, making comparisons with Leao and Tonali in their early years. But De Ketelaere really seems like a child at six in the evening in the woods, he seems really lost.
I don’t think a single goal is enough to unlock him, it will take two or three and some good performances. I hope he and Milan will blossom sooner or later, the club believes in him, also because it has invested three quarters of its summer budget on the Belgian“, said Serafini.
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