Chelsea tussle for €45m signing – Battle against PSG and Real Madrid

Chelsea are among the top clubs chasing KRC Genk’s Konstantinos Karetsas for the summer. 

The 18-year-old has caught Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund and Galatasaray attention.

He initially joined the Jupiler Pro League side’s reserve team on a free transfer in 2023, after leaving Anderlecht. A year later, the attacking midfielder made his first team debut and played 85 matches, managing six goals and 22 assists.

This season, the Belgium-born Greece international has operated on the right wing and as an attacking midfielder. He has three goals and 17 assists from 42 matches so far, and we highlight some of his league stats below.

It’s no surprise several clubs, including Chelsea, have taken note of the attacker’s rise and development in Belgium.

Blues in battle for Karetsas

On February 19th, Sport Witness relayed news that Liam Rosenier’s side and Manchester City are making an effort to bring him to the Premier League in the summer.

Later that month, we covered claims from Belgium that the two clubs sent their scouts to watch Genk’s Europa League win over Dinamo Zagreb.

Het Laatste Nieuws now report Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich, BVB and the Turkish club’s interest in the youngster.

These are clubs ‘in the running’ to sign the player and aren’t deterred by Genk’s asking price.

The Belgian club have set a €45m price so that Karetsas becomes the league’s record sale. The current record is €38m from Ardon Jashari’s sale move from AC Milan to Club Brugge in August 2025.

On Thursday, SC Freiburg knocked Genk out of the Europa League after securing a 5-1 win. Prior to the clash, HLN spoke to Karetsas and asked him about the transfer links.

Responding to that, he said: “I don’t like reading all that. I’m not curious about it either. But that is how the market works, right? Just let me focus on my job on the field. I want my life to stay as normal as possible. As long as I keep improving and performing, everything is fine. The rest exists only virtually, you know. It’s a nice bonus, but not tangible.”

Player’s contract, value and agent info

Last November, the attacker signed an extension with Genk until 2025 and is now valued €35m by Transfermarkt.

Belgian agency Stirr Associates, headed by agent Stijn Francis, represents the player desired by the Blues.

Francis has several players in his client list including Brighton & Hove Albion keeper Bart Verbruggen, VfB Stuttgart’s Bilal El Khannouss and Juventus’ Loïs Openda.