The agents of Charles de Ketelaere admits he was ready to sign for Leeds United before AC Milan’s intervention.
De Ketelaere was sold to Milan this week by Club Brugge for an initial fee of €35m.
Tom De Mul and Yama Sharifi told HLN: “On Charles there were West Ham, Newcastle, Arsenal. But with them the conversation never went on. Barcelona had been following him for some time too, but we thought that was not the right move. Financially, Leeds would have been the best option. For the club, for Charles, for us. But Charles wanted to wait a little longer: ‘If there is any other option, maybe I can consider whether going to Leeds is the right thing to do.’
“When Charles heard that Milan wanted him 100% , things have changed.
“It was very concrete. Charles noticed it too. They absolutely wanted him, he would play there every week. Jesse Marsch is a top notch manager. At one point Charles said he would like to hear from another club. To understand if Leeds was the right step, he wanted to be able to make a comparison.
“We phoned Milan: ‘If you really want him, you have to insist now. And push well, not halfway.”
“(Paolo) Maldini was still busy with his contract, but then he called him. Charles had a good conversation with (Stefano) Pioli too and was completely convinced. Except that Leeds were offering 40 million and Milan had a limit. But Brugge would not have sold him for 20 million, so Milan had to relaunch the offer.”
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