Leeds United interested in Charles De Ketelaere but £35m asking price too expensive
Leeds United want to sign Charles De Ketelaere to replace Raphinha but currently deem his £35m asking price as too expensive, according to the Daily Mail.
The Whites have accepted that the Brazilian winger will leave the club this summer, with a £60m deal with Chelsea agreed while the player continues to hold out for Barcelona.
But Leeds have already begun the hunt for his replacement and despite the huge windfall due to come their way, they aren’t expected to splash the cash too rashly which means the Belgian could end up elsewhere.
21-year-old De Ketelaere is a target but is valued at £35m by his current club Club Brugges, and Serie A champions AC Milan are also interested in a deal. Currently that value is deemed as “too expensive”.
Jesse Marsch is also looking at Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven and Adama Traore from Wolves as potential signings in attack, while reports in Holland claim a deal is close for Feyenoord winger Luis Sinisterra [Fabrizio Romano].
Smart
Leeds have got plenty of money to spend this summer, and everyone knows it with the way the Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips deals played out.
The club will have an amount in mind that they’re willing to spend on replacing those players, and they must be aware that selling clubs know they have a new war chest to operate from.
So staying within that budget makes a lot of sense, and if it means the club miss out on players because of it then so be it because the future of the club is the most important thing.
Reports suggest the player isn’t the most keen on the move anyway, so if there are other players that the club deem to be good enough to come in that are willing and they’re cheaper then it seems like a no-brainer of a move.
It’s hard enough competing for a player with a domestic champion and European giant, and you need to know how to pick your battles, so it seems as though Leeds have done the right thing on this occasion.
In other Leeds news, another Man City player could move to Elland Road later in the window after Gyabi deal confirmed