Manager makes Charles De Ketelaere transfer admission amid €35m Leicester City links

Club Brugge manager Carl Hoefkens has hinted that Charles De Ketelaere could leave the club this summer, with Leicester City one of the clubs interested.

City have been heavily linked with the forward since the January transfer window. They are, however, said to face competition from Serie A giants AC Milan for a summer deal as both face a transfer battle.

Latest reports suggest that City are ‘ready to surpass’ AC Milan’s offer of €35m to Brugge in the transfer window in an attempt to get the upper hand for the transfer. Previous reports in Belgium had suggested that City were in ‘pole position’ ahead of the summer window.

De Ketelaere is not the only Brugge player to be linked with a move away from the club this summer. Winger Noa Lang has also been linked with a move to the Premier League with Leeds United said to be interested in making a move for the 23-year-old.

As Club Brugge returned to pre-season training neither player was present in the first days of testing due to their involvement in the post-season international fixtures. De Ketelaere linked up with City players Youri Tielemans, Timothy Castagne and Dennis Praet for Belgium.

Speaking to the media after the first day of pre-season this week, Hoefkens sent a hint over the ‘next step’ for the forward. He did, however, outline his summer ‘hope’ for the duo.

“I hope to keep De Ketelaere here and Noa (Lang) too, but I know there’s a good chance – some more than others – that the next step is coming,” he said via SoccerNews . “We’ll see that in the coming weeks.”

De Ketelaere scored a total of 14 times and provided a further seven assists in 33 league appearances for the Belgian club last season.