On Wednesday, we covered claims made in Italy that Leeds United have made an offer in excess of €30m plus bonuses for Charles De Ketelaere.
Later that day, journalist Sacha Tavolieri stated the 21-year-old doesn’t favour a move to Elland Road.
RTL Sport journalist Alexandre Braeckman has been reporting on De Ketelaere for a while and he took to Twitter to summarise the current situation.
Braeckman explains the proposal made by Jesse Marsch’s side consists of €30m plus €7m in bonuses. They are ‘convinced’ AC Milan, who are also interested in the player, will not be able to match their offer.
Je reçois énormément de questions, merci à tous pour la confiance. Voici des réponses à ce que j'ai à ce stade:
– Leeds a mis 30M€ + 7 en bonus. Ils sont persuadés que Milan ne saura pas s'aligner, mais connait la position du joueur. #mercato #DeKeteleare
— Alexandre Braeckman (@ABraeckman) July 6, 2022
Milan, down their end, are not planning to go beyond €30m. They believe the Belgium international can be a promising player for the future and therefore think it will be worth investing in his services.
Stefano Pioli’s side are aware the versatile forward’s desire is to join them and want to use it to their advantage when negotiating with the Jupiler Pro League winners. However, they will not be able to offer the same fee that was proposed by the Whites.
Leeds are hoping to put pressure on Club Brugge financially. In the event the latter fail to find an agreement with Milan, the player could stay at the club and play in the Champions League with them next season.
Leeds espère toujours convaincre le joueur. L’offre est gelée à Bruges, pas refusée. Mais Milan a la préférence du joueur. #Mercato
— Alexandre Braeckman (@ABraeckman) July 6, 2022
Leeds are aware the versatile forward doesn’t favour a move to Elland Road. Braeckman adds Marsch’s side are ‘still hoping to convince’ De Ketelaere to join them this summer.
It’s worth noting that the Italian media were convinced for a long time that Sven Botman would reject Newcastle United and continue waiting for AC Milan. Of course, in the end, the defender agreed to leave Lille for the Magpies, after the Rossoneri refused to match what the French club wanted.
Leeds United will be hoping for a similar scenario.
