Charles De Ketelaere price tag emerges as Man City, Leicester plot moves for Belgian wonderkid

Manchester City and Leicester City have found out how much it will cost to sign Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge, according to a report.

The attacking midfielder is picking up interest from all across Europe due to his impressive displays in the Jupiler Pro League. This season, De Ketelaere has managed 18 goals and nine assists in 48 matches so far.

That includes strikes in recent matches against Genk and Beerschot, helping Club Brugge to consecutive 3-1 wins.

21-year-old De Ketelaere has also gained experience in the Champions League this term. He played in group stage matches against Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig. As would be expected, Club Brugge struggled against such big teams and couldn’t qualify for the next round.

De Ketelaere clearly has the ability to cut it in a bigger league. Alongside team-mate Noa Lang, who is on Leeds United’s radar, he could secure a major summer transfer.

Leicester have been keeping tabs on De Ketelaere’s development for some time now. Last month, Pep Guardiola’s City joined them in the race.

Presumably, Citizens scouts were impressed by the Belgium international’s performances against them in the Champions League.

Sport Witness provide an update on De Ketelaere’s future, while citing Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws. They claim Club Brugge will sanction a sale if either Leicester or City meet their £29.5million valuation.

Leicester and City vying for Charles De Ketelaere

Leicester had been preparing to offer £25.3m this summer. Therefore, some negotiation may need to be done before De Ketelaere ends up at the King Power.

Of course, City’s vast spending power means they can never be written off. Having spent just £51m to land Erling Haaland, there is still plenty in the bank for them to improve other positions.

However, there is one big reason why De Ketelaere could reject the approaches and remain at Club Brugge, at least for one season.

That’s because he wants to make it into the Belgium squad for the Qatar World Cup later this year.

The starlet is a regular at Club Brugge and will surely continue his great goalscoring record at the start of 2022-23.

Whereas if De Ketelaere moves and doesn’t play, then he could fall out of favour with Belgium boss Roberto Martinez.

It will be a difficult decision for De Ketelaere this summer. Maybe his best bet is to stay in his native Belgium for another season before moving in 2023.

This would help to ensure his appearance at the World Cup, as well as one day starring in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, City have reportedly come to a decision over the future of Ilkay Gundogan.