ASTON VILLA JUST £4M AWAY FROM AGREEING FEE FOR AC MILAN MISFIT
Aston Villa have failed with an opening bid of £21.5million for AC Milan forward Charles De Ketelaere.
AC Milan misfit Charles De Ketelaere could end up in the Premier League after Aston Villa registered their interest.
That is according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who claim that Villa have come forward with a €25million (£21.5million) bid.
Milan have rejected that proposal as they instead seek a deal worth around €30million (£25.6million).
The report claims that an agreement can be found soon with Villa seemingly not backing away.
Villa are just over £4million away from a deal, which isn’t a huge gap to bridge for Unai Emery’s side.
Charles De Ketelaere struggled last season
De Ketelaere was a hot property on the transfer market last summer.
The Belgian had excelled for Club Brugge, racking up 18 goals and 10 assists in the 2021-22 season.
AC Milan pounced and thought they had landed a star – but his debut season at the San Siro was difficult.
De Ketelaere starts just nine Serie A games and made 23 substitute appearances, failing to score a single league goal.
The 22-year-old was a top talent before his big move, shining wherever he played for Club Brugge; central midfield, attacking midfield, out wide, up front – it didn’t matter, De Ketelaere excelled.
Joining Milan seemed to dent De Ketelaere’s confidence and the Italian giants are already prepared to cash in – with Villa potentially benefiting.
Leeds United missed out on De Ketelaere
Leeds were desperate to sign De Ketelaere at the end of the 2021-22 season.
The Athletic reported that Leeds were making their move whilst Fabrizio Romano claimed that the Whites offered a deal worth £30million.
De Ketelaere chose Milan and the deal really didn’t work out.
Fast forward a year and De Ketelaere seemingly has another chance to play in the Premier League.
Villa should be very appealing to him; they are making huge strides under Unai Emery and will have Europa Conference League football this coming season.
Villa are more appealing right now than Leeds were this time last year and the move to England may finally be the best decision for him
