Chelsea have been told that the arrival of Liam Rosenior as manager has given them a huge boost in the race for Genk’s new wonderkid.
The Blues are no strangers to bringing in talent from the Belgian club, having signed both Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois when they were teenagers.
5
Goalkeeper Mike Penders, currently on loan at Strasbourg, became the latest star to join Genk at Stamford Bridge last year.
His former teammate Konstantinos Karetsas, who has been compared to Lionel Messi, has now caught the attention of Chelsea and Arsenal.
Who is Karetsas?
The 18-year-old, who played 39 games as Thorsten Fink’s side won the Belgian Pro League last year, has impressed again this season.
Karetsas has recorded six assists in 18 league games, and he has also scored one goal and assisted two more in just six Europa League games.
The midfielder, who was born in Belgium to Greek parents, made his first of nine international appearances for Greece last March.
He scored two of his three international goals against Scotland in 2025, but was unable to help his country qualify for the World Cup.
Arsenal were said to be close to completing a £37.8million deal to sign him in the summer, but a transfer failed to materialise.
The Gunners remain interested in Karetsas but European football expert Andy Brassell believes he would be better served by a move to Chelsea.
5
Chelsea over Arsenal for Karetsas
The Blues may have a wealth of young attacking midfielders, but new coach Liam Rosenior is an excellent player developer.
For this reason, and Arsenal’s wealth of established senior talent, Brassell believes Chelsea is a better next step for Karetsas.
“With Karetsas, Genk and Greece gave him such freedom of choice at such a young age,” he told The Pitch Prospect.com exclusively.
“But as someone who plays regularly for Genk and takes responsibility on the pitch for both Genk and Greece, I think Arsenal are actually quite a hard sell at the moment unless they buy him and loan him out somewhere else.”
“If you think about Ethan Nwaneri, for example, who occupies a zone on the pitch not entirely dissimilar to that of Karetsas, he is a left-footed player who drifts to the right and then comes back in with his left foot, even if he can come from deeper positions.”
5
5
“Being developed by Rosenior is a pretty compelling pitch”
“He loves dribbling and passing players. He’s getting better at making the final pass,” Brassell continued of Karetsas.
“I think there will be more goals to come in his game, that’s for sure. How is he going to get a game at the moment if he goes to Arsenal?”
“I just don’t see it. He’s such a good player and he’s going to be a really good player, I think. But he’s only going to be a really good player if he plays.”
“I don’t know if there’s a sudden blockage. Of course I can’t know what’s going through his mind, but I would say that Arsenal is an Everest at the moment, even if he is a player with real quality.”
“I think that even though there are other competing players at Chelsea in the areas where he could play, if I were him I would have thought my chances of playing at Chelsea would be higher.”
“I think Liam Rosenior’s development is a pretty compelling pitch if you’re looking for someone to make it at the highest level.”
5
“So could I imagine Karetsas moving to Chelsea and going on loan somewhere else? Yes, maybe that would be a possibility.”
“I think the talent is so great that it would make sense for a Premier League club to sign him at the moment.”
“But I’m just not entirely sure he’ll get proper playing time straight away with a Premier League team.”
“If a big Premier League club gets him, it’s all about choosing the right person to make sure he develops properly. And I think, actually, I would like Chelsea to do that better than Arsenal.”