AC Milan enthusiastically welcomes De Ketelaere

2022-08-05 13:36

AC Milan enthusiastically welcomes De Ketelaere

Ketelaere can ensure Milan retain the Serie A scudetto.

MILAN -- AC Milan's long wait to complete the transfer of Charles De Ketelaere has ended sweetly. The defending Italian Serie ALiga champion managed to woo the Belgian wonderkid in the mercato this summer.


De Ketelaere is a priority for Milan directors, Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara, to strengthen Stefano Pioli's attacking line for the upcoming 2022/2023 season. Therefore, this area deserves improvement from a technical point of view.


The Maldini-Massara duo worked with unprecedented tenacity to bring a new player to Milan. Generally, both figures choose to resign when the owner's club demands exorbitant prices.

However, this problem did not occur to Charles De Ketelaere. Years of monitoring, months of speculation and lengthy negotiations ended with Pioli smiling as brightly as last weekend.

The 21-year-old footballer was officially signed by Milan with a dowry of 33 million euros plus add-ons of 3 million euros for a contract for the next five years at the San Siro Stadium.

The player with a height of 190.2 centimeters has a lot of plus points in the eyes of Milan. Besides being very young, De Ketelaere has great talent and is able to operate in a number of positions on the front lines, aka versatile.

De Ketelaere can act as a false nine forward, attacking midfielder behind the striker, trequartista, or even a right wing striker. Although his ability is unquestionable, he certainly still needs to adjust to the Serie A competition.

Pioli certainly likes the presence of players with multiple options like De Ketelaere. The need for a creative midfielder that the Rossoneri did not have last season is said to have been fulfilled. De Ketelaere is considered capable of being a spirit in the creativity of the Red Devils' goals next season.

"Our game is based on intensity, speed, quality and talent. I didn't think we were the best (last season). But we proved it at the end of the season," Pioli said.

His extraordinary playing intelligence, understanding of space and his off-ball movement proved De Ketelaere to be the answer to i Diavolo Rosso's goal productivity. Last season despite not being a traditional number 9 striker, De Ketelaere scored 19 goals in 30 games for Club Brugge. He even registered the fourth-highest minute in the Brugge squad and missed only two games.

Some Belgian national team fans say, De Ketelaere has similarities with Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne. There is no extra guarantee if De Ketelaere's presence can ensure Milan maintain the Serie A scudetto. However, his arrival in the Red Devils squad solves the problems experienced by Pioli from the limitations of Brahim Diaz.

Milan legend Demetrio Albertini said the signing of De Ketelaere was in line with the team's needs. He believes, the player is able to support the Red-Black banging line. Also, won the title of the 20th Italian League.

The owner of 293 caps with the Rossoneri added, Milan officials must have evaluated more deeply the cost of that amount to land De Ketelaere to Milanello. In the 4-2-3-1 scheme, continued Albertini, Pioli can play him in many roles. "He is a modern player, a champion, of international caliber and at the age of 21 he already has more experience in the Champions League than some of the current Milan players."






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