With the end of Leicester City’s season just around the corner, full focus is starting on the much anticipated summer rebuild in the East Midlands. Lately the rumour mill has been solely fixed on the future of Youri Tielemans as he edges ever closer to an exit, but now fans are starting to see rumours and reports of a potential new recruit: Charles De Ketelaere.
De Ketelaere’s rise has been several years in the making. Last season he started to get regular appearances for Club Brugge – scoring three and assisted four in 32 league appearances – however it is this season in which he has started to make the headlines.
In the Jupiler Pro League he’s played in 33 games, has scored 14 goals, and has assisted 7 from attacking midfield. The rise in his numbers reflect the raw potential that the 21-year-old possesses in his locker and his value only mirrors this; in 2020 Transfermarkt had him valued at £4.5m, in 2022 his value has shot up to £27m.
Currently, he’s not only ranked as Club Brugge’s most valuable player, but the most valuable player in the entire Belgian league and the 6th highest ranked Belgian in world football. For an international team filled with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans, that is no mean feat.
With Leicester now poised as favourites to secure De Ketelaere’s signature, it asks the question of where he would best fit in at the King Power. The temptation for some may be to play him on the right of midfield – Leicester City’s search for a right winger is a tale as old as time – and, whilst De Ketelaere has played there before, it would be best if the right side was filled by an out-and-out right winger.
Looking at the stats, De Ketelaere has been most prolific whilst playing through the middle as a centre forward, or as an attacking midfielder. Whilst James Maddison is Leicester City’s current go-to attacking midfielder, he is also the only real option that Brendan Rodgers has. Ayoze Perez could be an option, but all signs lead to his exit this summer.
Competition for Maddison can only be a good thing for him, and the club, as well as giving Rodgers an extra piece of quality from the bench. I wouldn’t call Maddison a barrier for De Ketelaere, more a valuable teacher.
Squad depth has been a real issue for the Foxes over the last few seasons and has been one of the factors in them missing out on the Champions League. Now, with the potential signature of De Ketelaere, the Foxes could have an enviable number of options in their attack:
ST: Jamie Vardy, Patson Daka, Kelechi Iheanacho
LW: Harvey Barnes, Ademola Lookman (provided he joins Leicester on a permanent deal)
AM: James Maddison, Charles De Ketelaere, Dennis Praet
RW: Marc Albrighton
This would leave the right wing as the only position that Leicester has to strengthen, with Lookman, Maddison and De Ketelaere all being able to fill in if necessary.
Whilst the Foxes are in the driving seat to sign the Belgian, it doesn’t mean it will be a straightforward deal. For starters, he won’t come cheap. The Leicester Mercury are reporting that, according to Belgian journalist Alexandre Braeckman, Club Brugge are hoping for ‘€40m [£34m]’, though Leicester hope to ‘lower the price a little in the next few weeks’ as they begin talks.
Is it likely that Brugge will lower their valuation? Personally, I wouldn’t say so: their star still has two years left on his deal and they aren’t in the position in which they need to sell this summer. The other issue for hopes of a lower price is the competition that City face.
As per the Leicester Mercury, Braeckman has reported that whilst ‘Leicester is the only club to have formally come forward so far, AC Milan plans to do the same soon.’ Italian giants Milan can offer De Ketelaere Champions League football as well as the opportunity fight for league titles. Arsenal, another club reported to be interested, could also offer the prospect of European football.
This being said, LCFC still has the clear advantage. Perhaps this is to do with the project that Rodgers is building, the recent track record of growing young players, the strong Belgian contingent already at the club, or the fact that Leicester City and Club Brugge already have a good relationship with one another – they recently dealt with each other last summer when Kamal Sowah moved to Brugge for £8m.
De Ketelaere’s signing would be a huge boost of quality in the dressing room and would be the perfect signature for Brendan Rodgers as he aims to get the Foxes back into Europe. With Youri Tielemans destined to leave for around £30m-£40m, this would give the club exactly the amount of money needed to secure the attacker. It looks likely that it’ll be one Belgian for another – not a bad piece of business.