Genk Record Transfer Deal for Greek Star Kos Karetsas to Dortmund

Genk are set to cash in on their next academy jewel, and Borussia Dortmund have their latest project lined up.

According to Bob Faesen of HLN, Genk and Dortmund have reached an agreement for the transfer of 18-year-old Kos Karetsas, a move that will break Genk’s record for an outgoing transfer. The exact fee remains under wraps, but Genk had been pushing for around €35 million – a figure that underlines just how highly the Belgian club rate the Greek playmaker.

Karetsas is expected to sign a five-year contract and swap the Jupiler Pro League for the Bundesliga, continuing Dortmund’s long-standing strategy of betting big on elite teenage talent.

Another gem from Genk’s talent factory

For Genk, this is a familiar story with a new headline figure. Their academy has become one of Europe’s most productive talent factories, and Karetsas is the latest to make the leap from Limburg to the wider stage.

He first broke into the Genk first team as a 16-year-old during the 2023/24 season. The following campaign he became a regular, featuring in 39 matches, scoring three goals and providing three assists. Those numbers only tell part of the story: he went from promising cameo-maker to a player trusted week in, week out.

The real explosion came in the difficult 2025/26 season. While Genk struggled collectively, Karetsas accelerated. The teenager played 49 games in all competitions, again scoring three times but this time laying on 14 assists. In a side fighting to find rhythm, he became the main source of creativity.

That output, at 18, from midfield, is what dragged him onto the radar of Europe’s bigger clubs and ultimately pushed his price into record territory for Genk.

Dortmund get their man – and he gets his club

Karetsas had options. Interest in him had grown as his influence at Genk increased, but he made it clear where he wanted to go. Among the clubs circling, he picked Borussia Dortmund, convinced that Signal Iduna Park offers the best environment for his development.

It fits the pattern. Dortmund have built a reputation as the ideal halfway house between academy promise and global superstardom, a place where teenagers are not just protected but pushed, where minutes on the pitch matter as much as the transfer fee.

Genk, meanwhile, lose another homegrown star but bank a record sale and another powerful advertisement for their academy. One club reloads, the other reinvents. The next step belongs to Karetsas – and to the Bundesliga defenders about to discover why Dortmund were so determined to bring him in.