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Arsenal are ‘very close’ to signing Genk attacking midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas in a €45 million (£37.8m) deal, according to reports in Greece.

The 17-year-old has emerged as one of the brightest young talents in Europe after making his senior debut for Genk a year ago.

This season, Karetsas has quickly established himself in Genk’s first-team squad, scoring three goals and registering four assists in 39 appearances.

The midfielder also won the Belgium Pro League Goal of the Season for his long-range strike against Gent.

Karetsas was born in Belgium to Greek parents and after representing Belgium at youth level, the midfielder switched associations to Greece to make his senior debut for Greece in March.

He then scored in a 3-0 win against Scotland in his second appearance for the national side to become the youngest scorer in Greece’s history at the age of 17 years, four months and four days.

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Karetsas has been linked with several clubs across Europe including Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Juventus.

But according to Greece’s news agency AMNA, Arsenal are now closing in on a deal to sign the midfielder.

The report claims that Arsenal are now ‘very close’ to reaching an agreement with Genk over a deal worth €45m (£37.8m).

The report adds that Arsenal’s plan is to keep Karetsas on loan at Genk for another season for his development before bringing him into Mikel Arteta’s squad next summer.

Speaking earlier this season, Genk head coach, Thorsten Fink, was keen to keep Karetsas grounded after his superb strike against Gent.

‘He scored a beautiful goal indeed,’ Fink said.

‘That is his quality, he only needs one situation to score. But there is still a lot to improve. I hope you see that too.’

In November, Karetsas extended his contract with Genk which runs until 2027.

‘Genk is my home. I feel a lot of trust from the club,’ Karetsas said.

‘This is the best environment for me to keep growing, close to my family. I want to win trophies with KRC Genk and compete in Europe.’

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More change at Manchester United.

The Dane could be on the move...

Chelsea have been urged to sell three of the players they bought last summer in an effort to arm Enzo Maresca with a squad capable of challenging on all fronts.

After a challenging first campaign at the helm, Enzo Maresca masterminded Champions League qualification and a major trophy after thier Coference League triumph.

Maresca, himself, accepts, however, that Chelsea still have a considerable distance to travel if they are to achieve some of the loftier aims and ambitions held by the club’s ownership as well as the likes of star players Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez.

In order to make room to add an extra dose of quality to his ranks, Maresca has been advised to part company with three players whose arrivals he only sanctioned little over 12 months ago by Chelsea’s former Champions League winning midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Maresca appeared to have made a shrewd acquisition in defence last year when Chelsea snapped up Tosin Adarabioyo from local rivals Fulham but the former Nigeria international believes it is already time for a parting of ways.

He told The Telegraph: ‘Sell. For a free transfer, he was not a bad signing. But when I look at him I just think he is not…he’s done reasonably well, but I just don’t think at that Chelsea level.

‘He’s a good player, but not at the level to be a top Chelsea centre-back.’

It is a similar story in the centre of the park for Mikel where Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who excelled for Maresca at Leicester in The Championship, found the step up in quality difficult to adjust to.

‘He did well in the Championship with Leicester, but this is Chelsea Football Club,’ said Mikel.

‘He needs to go somewhere he can play and improve. Is he a good player? Yes. Is he a Chelsea player? Definitely not.’

Up front, meanwhile, Joao Felix’s second spell at the club turned out to be nothing short of an unmitigated disaster and was loaned to Milan in January.

Mikel said: ‘The reason why he came back to Chelsea, I have no idea. Spending £40-£50 million on bringing him back and letting him go on loan after a few months. I just don’t understand it at all and how that happened.

‘I’m sure Paul Winstanley and the rest of the guys have learnt from that, and not to make the same mistake again. He’s been at the club twice now and not performed. It has to be sell.’

The summer recruitment drive has already begun in earnest with Liam Delap’s £30m arrival from Ipswich rubber stamped on Wednesday night with Chelsea having beaten Manchester United to the striker’s signature.

‘I understand the stature of this club and can see the trajectory it is on with these players and the head coach,’ Delap told Chelsea’s website.

‘It’s going to be an incredible place for me to develop, and I hope to achieve amazing things here and help the club win more trophies.’

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