Arsenal boss Arteta ‘big admirer’ of Serie A star as ‘surprise’ rivals ‘strongly consider’ bid

Jason Soutar
Charles De Ketelaere, Arsenal and Tottenham badges
Atalanta playmaker Charles De Ketelaere with the Arsenal and Tottenham badges

London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are both interested in signing Atalanta playmaker Charles De Ketelaere, according to reports.

De Ketelaere joined Atalanta from Serie A rivals AC Milan for around £18.2million in July.

He spent last season on loan at the club, providing an impressive 25 goal contributions in 50 appearances across all competitions.

This was a slight improvement on his time playing for Milan, for whom he failed to score in 40 matches, notching one assist.

The Rossoneri paid over £30m to sign the Belgian from Club Brugge in the 2022 summer transfer window and will be very disappointed to see him thriving in Bergamo.

There is little chance of Milan re-signing De Ketelaere but he is attracting interest from clubs in the Premier League.

Arsenal lead transfer race for Belgium playmaker

According to a report from CaughtOffside, there is ‘growing interest from top clubs in the Premier League’, including Arsenal.

Indeed, the Gunners are ‘keeping an eye on’ De Ketelaere with manager Mikel Arteta a ‘big admirer’ of the 23-year-old.

They should face some stern competition for the Belgian international’s signature though, with Manchester City, Tottenham, Newcastle United and West Ham also ‘watching’ his progress.

The report says no club has made an approach for De Ketelaere, with Arsenal ‘weighing up internally whether or not to step up their interest in De Ketelaere in the near future’.

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The Atalanta star is not the only attacking midfielder Arteta is looking at. Shakhtar Donetsk’s Georgiy Sudakov is another target, the report adds.

It is unclear how much Atalanta would want for De Ketelaere but it would surely be an expensive sale, especially after the departure of Teun Koopmeiners and interest in Ederson.

While Arsenal appear to be leading the race for his signature, it is claimed that West Ham ‘could be a surprise name to watch in this saga’ with Julen Lopetegui ‘very strongly considering him as an ambitious target’.

The Hammers could step up their interest if Lucas Paqueta and/or Mohammed Kudus are sold.

This means West Ham might get there ‘quicker than Arsenal’, with the Gunners unlikely to sell two players in De Ketelaere’s position.

De Ketelaere only has one goal and assist since permanently joining Atalanta from Milan, picking up both in a 3-2 win over Fiorentina last month.

He played 60 minutes against Arsenal in his side’s 0-0 draw in the Champions League.

The 23-year-old made his senior debut for Belgium in November 2020 and has represented his country 20 times, scoring twice.

He started both of the Red Devils’ UEFA Nations League matches against Italy and France this month.

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