Manchester United are reportedly battling with Arsenal and Chelsea over a deal to sign KRC Genk midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas, as per Caught Offside.
The 18-year-old initially started his youth career at Genk before spending three years at Anderlecht. He returned to Cegeka Arena a couple of years ago before making his first team debut last year.
Now, he has established himself as a key starter for The Smurfs, scoring twice and registering 10 assists in 27 appearances across all competitions thus far this season. After impressing in the Belgian Pro League, the youngster has secured his place in the Greek national team.
Now, Caught Offside claim that Karetsas’ recent eye-catching performances haven’t gone unnoticed as he has started attracting a lot of attention ahead of the upcoming winter transfer window.
Man Utd, Arsenal, and Chelsea have all expressed their interest in signing him; moreover, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle United, and Bayer Leverkusen are in this race as well.
The Gunners and the Red Devils have stepped up their monitoring by sending scouts to watch him closely in recent matches before making a potential swoop.
On the other hand, Chelsea have already made contact with the player’s representatives to persuade him to join by defeating other clubs in this battle.
Battle
However, the report say that Genk have no intention of letting him leave with his existing deal set to run until 2029, and they want to keep hold of him for one more season at least.
Karetsas is a technically gifted creative midfielder by trait, but is also comfortable on the right flank. He is efficient in dribbling past opposition defenders in tight areas, is excellent in link-up play, good with both feet, and efficient in taking set-pieces.
Chelsea currently have Cole Palmer and Facundo Buonanotte as options to deploy in the No.10 position. However, the Argentinian has joined on loan from Brighton and has struggled to find regular game time this season. So, perhaps Maresca wants to sign a new CAM to support Palmer.
On the other hand, Arsenal already have Ethan Nwaneri, Eberechi Eze, and Martin Odegaard for the creative midfield position. So, they don’t need to spend big to add further depth to this position.
United, meanwhile, could do with adding depth to the attack as Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo are out on international duty, while Bruno Fernandes has sustained an injury.
It remains to be seen who will eventually manage to sign Karetsas next year.
