AC MILAN IN POLE POSITION FOR DE KETELAERE
Leeds face an uphill task to get an agreement in place with top striker target Charles de Ketelaere, according to reports.
Rivals AC Milan are preparing a new official bid for the talented Belgian forward, with De Ketelaere understood to be leaning towards Milan.
Personal terms are not believed to be a problem for Milan, according to Fabrizio Romano.
But Milan have to now agree a fee with Club Brugge. The Belgians are in no rush to push through a sale and are holding out for the best price.
Leeds are ready to pay up to £31.6m for De Ketelaere, according to The Mirror. Milan though are not at that price tag in their thinking.
The Whites have been “pushing” since June on de Ketelaere, but Romano insists Milan are leading the race.
Leeds are in the market for a new striker, new boss Jesse Marsch has admitted as much.
“We are actively hunting a striker and then I feel like it’ll feel pretty close to full strength and I’ll feel good about the group,” said the American this week.
Whether or not that admission will come back to haunt Marsch remains to be seen. But announcing to the footballing world you are “hunting” a signing could prove costly.
BLADES TURN DOWN BERGE OFFER
Bundesliga side Werder Bremen have made a £17.9m offer to Sheffield United for midfielder Sander Berge.
Sky Sports report the Blades have not accepted the offer. Instead United are holding out for closer to the £22m they paid Belgian club Genk for him in January 2020.
The Norway star has a £35m release clause in his contract. But no suitors are expected to come in with that sort of money, despite interest from two other Bundesliga clubs.
The 24-year-old scored from close range in Sheffield United’s 2-1 friendly win against Casa Pia in Portugal on Friday.