‘He was 50/50’: Radrizzani says Leeds very nearly signed ‘special player’

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Speaking to The Athletic, Andrea Radrizzani has been discussing Leeds United and their pursuit of Charles De Ketelaere.

It was widely reported this summer that Leeds were indeed keen on De Ketelaere, and now the club’s chairman has himself confirmed that Leeds came ever so close to landing the Belgian.

Indeed, Radrizzani says that the Whites actually agreed a deal with Club Brugge for a fee for De Ketelaere, but unfortunately for Leeds, he chose AC Milan instead.

However, the Italian states that this was a closely run race, claiming that the attacker was genuinely torn between Leeds and Milan at one point.

What’s been said?

Radrizzani discussed the De Ketelaere pursuit.

“We moved fast and we closed the deals, the only one where we did everything perfect including the agreement with Brugge, we had a deal with the club but not with the player. It was Charles De Ketelaere, he was the icing on the cake and a special player, but unfortunately we didn’t make it. Good luck to him, we were competing with AC Milan who won the title and have the Champions League, the fact that he was 50/50 about Milan and Leeds made me really proud,” Radrizzani said.

Should be proud

Radrizzani says that he was proud to see that Leeds could actively compete with AC Milan for a signing, and he should be.

Imagine telling a Leeds fan five years ago that they’d be rivalling AC Milan for a £35m striker, you’d be laughed out of West Yorkshire.

Leeds have come so far since their long spell as a Championship club, and while things haven’t all be sunshine and rainbows for the Whites over the past 12 months, it’s tales such as this that show just how valuable being in the Premier League is.

The Whites may not have landed De Ketelaere, but the fact that they can fish in the same pond as a team like Milan is impressive to say the least.