Charles De Ketelaere could see his time at AC Milan end after just one year as an offer has arrived from Premier League side Aston Villa, a report claims.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recalls how July 2022 was the month of the soap opera that ended up seeing De Ketelaere joining Milan, beating the competition from Leeds United in England.
Now we are in July 2023 and the Belgian could be on his way out. Aston Villa is the team that could welcome De Ketelaere and guarantee Milan a return on the over €35m that they spent last summer to sign him from Club Brugge.
CDK amassed 49 appearances and 18 goals in his last season with Brugge but at Milan he failed to score a single goal in 40 games. He had a positive start including an impressive debut, but things went downhill from there.
To avoid a loss on the balance sheet an offer of €28m is needed and Aston Villa are expected to put in a bid of €25m. Milan are asking for €30m, a starting point that can allow for a halfway meeting.
If the English side decide that he is worth it, they won’t hesitate to raise their offer. Milan are not convinced De Ketelaere will have a second season like Rafael Leao and Sandro Tonali did and thus won’t resist his exit.
De Ketelaere was hoping to hit some form in America during the preseason tour but instead it is an American – Christian Pulisic – who has arrived to steal his place. When the right winger is added, Pulisic will be the No.10 and that rearranges the hierarchy.
Aston Villa’s expression of interest and possible offer is as far as any club have gone, but Milan hope that others will follow and that they can net a nice return from the sale of a player they believed in so much 12 months ago.
