Leeds United focus on Charles De Ketelaere has put Arnaud Kalimeundo move in jeopardy
Leeds United look likely to miss out on signing prime attacking target Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge, which is no great surprise.
They were aways second best there, but more frustrating is that by maintaining a focus on the 21-year-old Belgian for so long they may have damaged their chances to complete a much cheaper and more viable deal for Arnaud Kalimuendo.
Signing the 20-year-old French striker might still be possible but the player and his new Paris Saint-Germain coach Cristophe Galtier like the idea of him staying in with the Ligue 1 champions, even if the club suits don’t.
At long last AC Milan upped their offer for De Ketelaere on Wednesday (27 July), with the total package now reaching the €35million asking price according to La Gazetta dello Sport journalist Luca Bianchin.
The Whites had long had a stronger offer, thought to be around €37million, ready for Club Brugge but the Belgian international had made clear from the start that he wasn’t interested in a move to Elland Road and only wanted the Serie A winners [Alexandre Braeckman].
It isn’t entirely clear why United maintained their position in that race for so long when they apparently had little chance of succeeding, but in the mean time they appear to have lost ground on Kalimuendo.
After a season and a half on loan at Lens, scoring 21 goals along the way, Leeds put a €20million [£16.7million] offer in over a month ago, which is still considered likely to be enough by some [Miguel Delaney].
But according to L’Equipe on 9 July, PSG put a €25million price on him [£20.9million], and since then there has been little movement on the transfer front.
What has changed in the mean time is that the French champions started their preseason under new coach Galtier, where the young striker has shone.
He impressed his manager in the first match against Quevilly Rouen Metropole on 16 July, then scored in the next two wins over Kawasaki Frontale and Urawa Red Diamonds.
While the club’s new influential advisor Luis Campos is clearly ready to move the forward on, the preseason performances have given the coach a glimpse of what he is capable of, and allowed the player to feel that he belongs in the team.
He is now minded to stay and not start while sitting behind Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe and wants to pick up whatever game time is available after theirs [Canal Supporters].
But if Leeds had just met the asking price, still significantly lower than what they wanted to pay for De Ketelaere, before the friendly matches had kicked off none of this would have developed.
It is hard to escape the feeling that if the club had not been so intent on picking up the pieces if Milan were unable to secure a deal for the Belgian, they could have wrapped up a deal for Kalimuendo by giving Campos what he asked for in June and the Parisian goalscorer could have been in Jesse Marsch’s squad learning the American’s game plan.
Considering that PSG apparently offered the youngster in a big-money part exchange for Inter’s Milan Skriniar [La Gazetta dello Sport], and after signing Hugo Ekitike this summer still tried to hijack West Ham’s Gianluca Scamacca deal at the last [Sky Sports], it feels like the hierarchy in the French capital expect him to leave.
But even if he does arrive it will be a last-minute job now when it seems like it could have been done in good time if the Whites were focusing on this deal instead of the more expensive and harder to win one in Bruges.
For the most part the incoming business in the transfer window has been pretty impressive this summer, particularly with various players who have a history with the coach coming in to suit his ideas.
But there has been a frustrating blind spot in the pursuit for the help up front, and fans are still waiting to see one of the final pieces come through the doors at Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, one surprise Whites player is likely to be part of the first-team squad this season which could be a big blessing in disguise.