Leeds United pursuing Club Bruges forward Charles de Ketelaere - The Athletic 25/6/22
By Phil Hay and Adam Crafton
Leeds United are pursuing Club Bruges forward Charles de
Ketelaere, The Athletic understands.
The club see the highly-rated 21-year-old as a secondary
striker or false nine.
Leeds are also thought to be targeting the arrival of a
winger before the coming season.
However, they face competition for De Ketelaere from
newly-crowned Italian champions AC Milan, who can offer Champions League
football.
De Ketelaere has already made eight appearances for Belgium,
making his debut against Switzerland in November 2020, and only narrowly missed
out on Roberto Martinez’s squad for the European Championships last summer.
He burst onto the scene in Belgium dramatically, making his
debut against Real Madrid in the Champions League in 2019, and scoring a
last-minute winner against Zenit Saint Petersburg the year after.
Progress continued in 2021-22, with De Ketelaere the fulcrum
of the Bruges attack against Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and RB
Leipzig, scoring against the latter.
He managed 18 goals in 49 total appearances for Bruges last
season, with the club winning the Belgian title, while also adding 10 assists.
Earlier on Saturday, The Athletic reported that Arsenal were
set to intensify their pursuit of Leeds winger Raphinha, having seen a bid
rejected last week.