Explosive details revealed! Borussia Dortmund’s move for Konstantinos Karetsas almost fell through at the last minute
Borussia Dortmund could probably not have afforded to take much more time in their efforts to sign Konstantinos Karetsas.
According to a report by Sport Bild, AC Milan were another high-profile club who came close to hijacking BVB's long-running negotiations with Karetsas' former club KRC Genk.
Genk initially held firm on a transfer fee of 35 million euros and did not want to let their super talent leave for any less. BVB refused to meet that price at first and, according to Sport Bild, focused instead on convincing Karetsas to move to Dortmund.
Karetsas' visit to Borussia appears to have been crucial. During the trip, the bosses of the German runners-up showed him Signal Iduna Park among other things and raved about the atmosphere there, which is said to have made a huge impression and quickly led Karetsas to decide that he definitely wanted to join BVB.
How much did BVB have to pay for Konstantinos Karetsas?
That strategy paid off. Sports managing director Lars Ricken and sporting director Ole Book were then able to task Karetsas with making it known to Genk that he wanted to wear Borussia's shirt in future. According to Sport Bild, that was ultimately the decisive piece of the puzzle, allowing Book to make headway in further talks with the Belgian top-flight club and force through a base fee of "just" 30 million euros.
The breakthrough came just in time too, according to Sport Bild. Only a little later, and before the transfer was officially announced, BVB are said to have learned that Milan would have been prepared to pay 35 million euros for Karetsas and had submitted a corresponding offer to Genk. Had Dortmund waited any longer, the pursuit of their desired player for the attacking midfield would probably have become complicated again or possibly collapsed altogether.
Konstantinos Karetsas made his competitive debut for BVB against Bayern
Instead, the Westphalians announced at the start of August that Karetsas had signed a five-year contract until 2031. The 18-year-old already brings 92 competitive appearances for Genk and 10 senior international caps for Greece, and is expected to slot straight into a key role in coach Niko Kovac's creative hub. Last Saturday, Karetsas made his competitive debut for BVB in the Super Cup against Bayern Munich (1-2), started the game and played for a little over an hour.
Next up, the technically gifted midfielder is in line to make his Bundesliga debut on Saturday. On matchday one, Dortmund host Hamburger SV.
