Real Madrid have reportedly set their sights on 20-year-old Belgian attacking sensation Charles de Ketelaere over a potential move in future.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes Futbol, Real Madrid have identified a number of candidates to possibly be among the next batch of prodigious recruits in future transfer windows. And one of the players on their radar is Club Brugge’s 20-year-old sensation Charles de Ketelaere.
Charles de Ketelaere has been with Club Brugge all his life, having joined the club’s youth setup as a seven-year-old back in 2008. The Belgian prospect subsequently made significant progress through the ranks in Bruges before breaking into the first-team setup at the Jan Breydel Stadium in 2019 aged just 18.
Since then, de Ketelaere has come leaps and bounds, becoming a mainstay in attack for the Belgian club in the last couple of years. The 20-year-old has started the 2021/22 season in fine fashion as well, with four goals and three assists in 15 appearances so far. At the same time, his progress has not gone unnoticed either, with Real Madrid the latest club to have emerged on their radar.
As per the report, the Merengues have their sights set on a number of promising youngsters, including Rayan Cherki, Wesley Fofana and Aurelien Tchouameni, among others. And one of the players to be eyed as a potential long-term solution in the Real Madrid attack is de Ketelaere.
The interest in the 20-year-old makes a world of sense as well for Los Blancos, even as they continue to get linked with Erling Haaland. That is because while Haaland will be a long-term successor for Benzema, Real Madrid would also need at least one player to replace Luka Jovic and Mariano Diaz, both of whom are set to become surplus to requirements soon.
To that end, de Ketelaere is a viable target for Real Madrid, who can have an ideal competitor and/or backup for Haaland in the Belgian attacking sensation. However, Real Madrid are not the only club keen on signing de Ketelaere, who has also been courting interest from Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and AC Milan, among others.
What now remains to be seen is if Real Madrid end up firming up their interest in de Ketelaere. For now, though, the 20-year-old is the latest prodigious talent to be linked with the Spanish giants and it will be interesting to see who they sign to bolster their attack next summer.
