Young talent Konstantinos Karetsas has had a breakthrough year in Belgium that could pay off handsomely as various clubs enter the race for his signature, with Newcastle reportedly ready to trigger his £35m release clause.
The Genk and Greece midfielder has been the centre of much attention across Europe with numerous clubs supposedly interested in him.
In Belgium, the media insist that Bayern Munich is monitoring the 17-year-old while in Italy, the specialized website for player transfers, Tuttomercato, reports that Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle and Napoli have also shown interest.
It is reported that clubs have assigned scouts to closely monitor his development and all matches in Belgium and the Greek national team.
The strongest sign of interest has been shared by the English newspaper, The Sun, which claims Newcastle are preparing to submit a 35 million pound ($73 million Australian) offer in the summer to sign him from Genk.
“Newcastle are preparing a bid for Greece’s super kid, Konstantinos Karetsas, but they must catch up with Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, who are also interested. Newcastle have decided to offer £35m to activate his buyout clause from Genk. Karetsas fits perfectly into Eddie Howe’s playing philosophy,” the paper says in its report.
The young talent has had a very strong season with Genk, though many will have gotten their first taste of him from his debut games for Greece against Scotland, during which he scored a beautiful goal to demonstrate his quality.
Karetsas has already etched his name into the history books as Greece’s youngest ever player and goal scorer, though there will be plenty of intrigue as to what else there is to come.
