Leeds United have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Charles De Ketelaere to Elland Road this summer.
What's the talk?
That's according to a claim made by Gianluca Di Marzio, who revealed in a recent post on Twitter that AC Milan have now made their first offer for the Club Brugge forward - believed to be in the region of €20m (£17m) plus add-ons.
In his tweet, the Italian journalist said: "First offer of Milan for De Ketelaere."
However, the transfer insider went on to state in a supporting article that the Rossoneri face competition for the 21-year-old's signature from the Whites, while further reports have also revealed both Arsenal and Lyon's interest in the Belgium international - for whom Brugge are said to be demanding a figure of €35m (£30m) in order to part with this summer.
Supporters will be gutted
Considering just how exciting a prospect De Ketelaere undoubtedly is, in addition to it being reported that the versatile attacking midfielder is one of Victor Orta's priority targets in the summer transfer window, Di Marzio's claim that Milan have now made a move for the youngster, coupled with the new interest of Arsenal and Lyon, is sure to have left the Elland Road faithful gutted.
Indeed, upon making his first-team debut for Brugge back in 2019, the £27m-rated talent burst onto the European football scene, having scored 25 goals and registered 20 assists over his 120 appearances for the Jupiler Pro League side - averaging a direct goal involvement every 190 minutes of football played.
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The £17k-per-week versatile forward - who can operate from almost any position in midfield and attack - particularly caught the eye last season, bagging 18 goals and providing ten assists over 49 appearances in the Jupiler Pro League, the Champions League, the Beker van Belgie and the Belgian Supercup.
These returns have seen De Ketelaere receive a significant amount of praise, with De Krant van West-Vlaanderen journalist Frans Buyse even going as far as to compare the 21-year-old to Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne.
In an interview with BBC Sport last October, Buyse said: "Charles' best position is number 10, but experienced star Hans Vanaken plays there, so he had been moved around, used in attack, on the wing and even at left-back.
"Lately, he started to enjoy life in the penalty area, but his biggest strength is to have a lot of the ball in central midfield.
"De Ketelaere's style is reminiscent of De Bruyne. He is intelligent, and possesses great vision and a superb passing range. His dribbling is similar to De Bruyne's too. Eventually, he should take his place for Belgium."
As such, with it being abundantly clear just how promising an attacker the Brugge starlet is, should Leeds miss out on a move for the eight-cap international, it would undoubtedly come as a gutting blow to the Whites - leading us to believe that Orta simply must do all he can to land the forward ahead of Milan, Arsenal and Lyon this summer.
AND in other news: Victor Orta agrees £30m deal for Leeds sixth summer signing, imagine him & Tyler Adams