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.
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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.
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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Ayden Heaven has finally explained his decision to leave boyhood club Arsenal for Manchester United.
England U19 defender Heaven spent five years at Arsenal after joining the club’s academy at the age of 14.
The highly-rated youngster trained with Arsenal’s first team during the 2023-24 campaign and was involved heavily with Mikel Arteta’s squad in last summer’s pre-season.
Heaven made his first-team debut in October but only played two more games for the Gunners before completing a move to Manchester United at the end of the January transfer window.
The 18-year-old signed a four-and-a-half year contract at Old Trafford and quickly impressed Ruben Amorim in training, so much he was brought on against his former club in a Premier League match in March.
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Heaven made a further five appearances for United – including appearing in the Europa League – before his season was curtailed by an injury sustained against Leicester City.
The ex-Arsenal defender did return for Manchester United’s final two Premier League games and will hope to enjoy a productive pre-season ahead of a potentially breakout 2025-26 campaign.
Given the trajectory of both United and Arsenal, Heaven’s transfer decision appeared questionable and he has now explained the reason for the switch.
‘The opportunities that the young players have got here in the past,’ Heaven told MUTV when asked why he decided to join Manchester United.
‘I think United had the most minutes given to teenagers last season [2023/24]. That convinced me to come here.
‘And the people and the fans here are quite loving, and I felt that when I was playing. They’re so supportive.’
Heaven said an encouraging conversation with Amorim also helped convince him to make the move to Old Trafford.
‘He just said that our play style will suit me, because they play three at a back and I play on the left of the three, so that allows me to run with the ball,’ the teenager said.
‘That’s one of my strengths. And defending out wide is one of my strengths as well.’
When Heaven arrived at Old Trafford, he was immediately greeted by Mason Mount, another player who left London to join the Red Devils.
‘The first day I was here, at Carrington, he came up to me and introduced himself and we had a good 10-minute conversation,’ Heaven added.
‘He reminded me that we played each other in pre-season and he remembered a tackle I hit him with in the first minute!
‘So, yeah, me and Mason are good friends. And obviously Bruno [Fernandes], as well, the captain, he’s helped
‘Patrick [Chinazaekpere Dorgu] as well, we signed together, basically the same week and we’ve been together since then.’
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