There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and transfer speculation. With Leicester City’s ambitions of a squad rebuild this summer, they were always going to find themselves in the eye of the proverbial storm.
Last month, Foxes of Leicester looked at City’s interest in Belgian attacker Charles De Ketelaere and where he would fit into Brendan Rodgers’ squad. At the time of writing, it was reported that the East Midlander’s were in pole position the sign the forward, however, there has since been a twist to the tale.
According to Belgian reporter Alexandre Braeckman, newly crowned Serie A champions AC Milan are now firmly in the race to secure De Ketelaere’s services, if not the out-right favourites. Milan were discussed as being interested in the 21-year-old in May, as were Arsenal, but that interest has since progressed, with Milan keen to add the attacker to their project.
Stefano Pioli has worked wonders with Milan over the few last years as he aimed to save the Rossoneri from mediocrity. Whilst they were expected to compete for the title this year, the belief was that Inter’s squad would prove just too much for them, instead they have secured their first scudetto in 11 years.
Pioli’s project hasn’t ended here though, and his squad are still far from the finished article. Their next focus will be to improve on last year’s European campaign, and De Ketelaere’s versatility across the front-line will add a great deal in their attack.
Providing an update on the De Ketelaere story, Braeckman wrote: ‘We are heading towards an intense duel between Leicester City and AC Milan for Charles De Ketelaere. The situation has not changed in Bruges: price of 40M € . Redeemed, Milan can now line up. Leicester have not given any news in recent days’.
On se dirige vers un duel intense entre Leicester et l'AC Milan pour Charles De Ketelaere. La donne n'a pas changé à Bruges: prix de 40M€. Racheté, Milan peut maintenant s'aligner. Leicester n'a plus donné de nouvelles ces derniers jours. #Mercato #LCFC #ACMilan
— Alexandre Braeckman (@ABraeckman) June 13, 2022
It is understood that the attacker won’t extend his current deal with Club Brugge (expiring in 2024) and he is very open to moving away from his childhood club. As for Brugge, as long as they receive their asking price of 40M€ (£34M), they will not stand in the way of their talented youngster.
With Milan prepared and ready to pay the money, if Leicester can rival such a bid, then the transfer will rest upon De Ketelaere himself. Chiefly, he wants to play in the Champions League; the Foxes failure to achieve a European place for next season could be costly.
Of course, the question emerges of if Leicester are yet in a position to pay £34m to secure his signing. After being hit heavily by COVID, the club aren’t in the financial position to be able to spend big from the get-go, instead they may have to sell first in order to buy later.
Youri Tielemans is expected to depart the club this summer, with figures of £25m being rumoured for the midfielder. Alongside him, the likes of Ayoze Perez, Caglar Soyuncu and Boubakary Soumare could all be offloaded to generate funds.
Whoever signs De Ketelare is clearly getting a fantastic talent. This season he made 33 league appearances, scoring 14 and assisting 4. He made his senior international debut in 2020 at the age of 19 and has since gone on to earn six further caps for his country, scoring against Italy in the Nations League last year.
This saga is far from over, and it is certainly one to keep your eyes on. Despite their lack of European football, and the fact that the club currently don’t have a head of recruitment, Leicester are very much in the fight. It’s now up to Rodgers – and potentially Timothy Castagne – to sell the project to De Ketelaere if they are to get their man.
This is set to be a drawn-out battle between the two clubs, and I wouldn’t expect a resolution anytime soon. As Braeckman wrote: ‘Get out the popcorn, it’s gonna get interesting’. Stay tuned everyone.