Charles De Ketelaere dropped from Brugge squad as Leeds United table bid to sign him
Club Brugge have not included Charles De Ketelaere in their squad amid links with Leeds United and AC Milan this summer.
La Gazetta Dello Sport, in their print edition [19 July, pg. 12/13] claimed that the Whites had already submitted a £31.4million bid to sign the 21-year-old while Milan were not going to match that.
For reasons not official yet, Brugge boss Carl Hoefkens has not included the Belgium international in his matchday squad for the first league game of the season.
Via Twitter, Brugge announced their team for the game against Genk on July 24.
On his way out?
There have been no reports of an injury thus far so it could be that the manager does not want De Ketelaere anywhere near the team.
If he’s not going to be there for the rest of the season, it does make little sense to keep him for a few games and then change the team to work around another attacking player.
The upcoming season will be Hoefkens’ first in charge of the Belgian club as a number one and he seems to be planning for life without the 21-year-old.
This is a major boost for Leeds as they know that one way or the other, he is going to be leaving the club this summer.
We’re unsure as to whether or not Milan can convince them to bring down the price but if Brugge are getting more money from Leeds, it seems daft to reduce their valuation.
The next few days are certainly going to be interesting and we cannot wait to see how it all transpires.
In other Leeds United news, Jesse Marsch is extremely keen on bringing an ‘Exceptional’ striker to Elland Road this summer and has learnt his transfer valuation.