Alexandre Braeckman has dropped an update on the future of reported Leeds United transfer target Charles De Ketelaere.

What's the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Belgian RTL journalist revealed that, despite recent reports suggesting that AC Milan looked as if they were unable to meet the demands of Club Brugge in their attempts for the centre-forward, the Serie A champions remain in talks with the Belgian club and are still confident of closing a deal for the 21-year-old.

TEAMtalk journalist James Marshment also relayed an update on Twitter from RTL Sport regarding the current situation of the Belgium international, in which it is claimed that Milan are now preparing a final offer of €33m (£28m) plus a sell-on percentage for the striker, while Leeds' bid currently sits at €37.5m (£31.8m).

In response to a supporter asking for the latest on De Ketelaere, Braeckman said: "No bid submitted [on Monday]. Talks still ongoing and Milan remain confident to close the deal. I can't tell you anything more right now, but I think we're in the final stage of this move."

Orta must now act

Considering just how long Milan's pursuit of De Ketelaere has dragged on, in addition to the Rossoneri still not having met Brugge's reported €35m (£30m) asking price for the 21-year-old, Victor Orta could now very much turn the screw on Stefano Pioli's side by upping the Whites' current €37.5m offer to €40m (£34m).

Also, considering the sheer amount of potential that the £27m-rated forward undoubtedly possesses, it would be well worth the additional cost for the Whites if a £2.2m increase in their offer for the Belgian be enough for Brugge to finally put an end to Milan's tedious efforts to sign the youngster.

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Indeed, over his 39 Jupiler Pro League appearances in 2021/22, the £17k-per-week talent was in astonishing form, scoring 14 goals, registering nine assists and creating 16 big chances for his team-mates, along with making 1.8 key passes, taking two shots and completing 1.4 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the eight-cap international average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.25, ranking him not only as Alfred Schreuder's fourth-best performer in the league but also the 13th-best player in the entire Belgian top flight last time out.

As such, with De Ketelaere quite evidently being a hugely promising young talent, one who could quite easily develop into something of a world-beater at Elland Road, it would appear wise for Orta to do that all he can to force Brugge's hand in a deal for the 21-year-old.

Otherwise, Leeds' director of football very much runs the risk of missing out on the starlet to Milan this summer.

AND in other news: Leeds given green light for "exceptional" target, he's got a "left foot made of gold"