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Aston Villa submit bid to sign Charles De Ketelaere, AC Milan respond - Gazzetta dello Sport
Aston Villa have seen a bid rejected for AC Milan forward Charles De Ketelaere as other Premier League clubs also chase his signature, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Italian newspaper claims Villa made an offer in the region of £21.4million, with the Serie A giants looking for a fee of about £24million to consider allowing him to leave.
By making an offer, the Villans are believed to have stolen a march on fellow Premier League rivals Everton and Crystal Palace, who are also rumoured to be interested in the Belgium international.
Hit and miss
The forward arrived at AC Milan with a big reputation last summer, having signed from Club Brugge for a reported £30.3million.
He scored 18 goals and laid on 10 assists in 49 matches for the Belgian side in the 2021/22 season, leading to a number of Europe’s biggest clubs chasing his signature.
But it hasn’t panned out the way he would’ve been hoping for in Milan after he failed to score a single goal in 40 appearances in the last campaign, while also recording just one assist.
That has led to the Rossoneri deciding to listen to offers for the 22-year-old, with Villa showing they would be keen to bring him to Birmingham.
While his numbers weren’t great by any means last season, he still played an awful lot of games and there’s no doubt Unai Emery could help get his confidence back if the Villans do decide to go back in with an improved offer.
In other Aston Villa news, the club are reportedly ‘not scared’ by the figure they have been quoted for a Euros-winning midfielder.