Aston Villa buoyed by Chelsea deal as £25million will secure forward Euro giants don’t want

Aston Villa are considering raising their offer for AC Milan forward Charles de Ketelaere, as they want £25million, after Christian Pulisic’s arrival will essentially confirm his exit.

De Ketelaere was a highly sought after player last summer. That followed a season for Club Brugge in which the Belgian bagged 14 league goals alongside seven assists.

AC Milan and Leeds United were two of the most heavily-interested sides. While Leeds’ offer was reported to be higher, the attacker decided on Milan, and made the move to the San Siro for approximately £30million.

Since then, De Ketelaere’s spell at the club has been disappointing. He played 40 games across all competitions last season, and his only direct contribution to a goal was an assist in his third Serie A appearance.

With the Belgian not living up to expectations, Milan have been looking elsewhere for talents that can have the desired impact.

They landed on American forward Pulisic, and Fabrizio Romano reports that after negotiations with Chelsea, they ‘have signed’ him on a four-year deal.

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With that, it seems Milan are ready to ship De Ketelaere out, with Gazzetta dello Sport suggesting the ‘sporting judgement’ on the player is negative, and the club hopes, after a bid from Aston Villa, that ‘others will follow’.

The Villa bid is said to be of approximately £21.3million. However, Milan reportedly want £25million to ensure they are not losing out on a lot.

It’s suggested a mid-way point of just under £24million would be acceptable, and Villa ‘won’t hesitate to raise their offer’ if they feel it’s worth it.

It would seem strange if they felt that was the case. After his first season in a top-five European League was way below what was expected of him, the assumption would be that most sides would steer clear of De Ketelaere.

That should be especially true in Villa’s case, given reports they’re courting Moussa Diaby – a much more impactful player over the past couple of seasons.

However, Unai Emery has gotten the best out of players that were out of form in his time at Villa, so there’s no reason to suggest he can’t do the same with De Ketelaere, and given he’s only 22, last season might have just been a blip before he gets back to the level it’s expected he can reach.

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