The phone lines between Milan and Belgium have been hot in previous summers, and they are heating up once again.
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As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall, in 2022 AC Milan were embroiled in negotiations with Club Brugge over Charles De Ketelaere, whom they eventually landed. A year ago, the club looked in the same direction, eventually breaking Brugge’s resistance to add Ardon Jashari to their midfield.
This time, their sights are set not on West Flanders but on the east, more specifically Genk. It is the city and club of Konstantinos Karetsas, the Pro League and Greek national team’s golden 18-year-old talent. Born in Belgium to Greek parents, he is the number 10 that Milan want.
Karetsas is left-footed but loves cutting in from the right. Despite his young age, he has 92 appearances for Genk with six goals and 23 assists, plus 10 appearances and three goals for Greece.
Milan’s strategy
It is clear why this is one of the next transfer objectives for Milan: Gerry Cardinale has invested certain money in Goncalo Ramos and Mario Gila, but the preferred corporate strategy remains that of focusing on talent and developing it.
Karetsas has been admired a lot and for a long time, for his characteristics and great potential. He would add imagination, unpredictability and enthusiasm in a department that today has older interpreters, such as Christian Pulisic, Christopher Nkunku and Samuel Chukwueze.
However, after having spent over €100m on the first two signings, Cardinale and Milan are in no hurry to buy again. They would like to study the best way to get an agreement with Genk and do it before Borussia Dortmund, who are also after Karetsas.
With fierce competitors the price risks rising further. Borussia – as per reports in Germany – are ready to raise the first offer of €30m, rejected by the Belgian side. Milan are still in contacts and could relaunch again once the accounts are replenished.
Raising cash
There could be an overtaking at the final corner if Milan managed to sell Rafael Leao in a short time. An auction could also be unleashed for Rafa too, as the proposal put forward by Fenerbahçe is destined to be met by that of Galatasaray.
The Istanbul derby cannot help but enthuse the Rossoneri, while Leao’s mood remains colder (but he can always warm up quickly) when thinking about the idea of moving to Turkey. His recent comments on a podcast in Brazil have further confused things, too.
With the €60m from the hypothetical sale of Leao, the Rossoneri would go straight to Genk with the cash needed for Karetsas. The club, and Amorim, have a special respect for Konstantinos and believe he is worth the €35-40m asked for.
However, Genk’s negotiating leverage has grown with the renewal of Karetsas, now tied to the club until 2029. Yesterday the contract renewals of Francesco Camarda and Christian Comotto was made official until 2031 – could they soon be joined by another 18-year-old ‘wonderkid’?