Charles De Ketelaere’s excellent start to life as an Atalanta player continues, as he scored a brace last night during their 3-1 victory over Lazio.
As Radio Rossonera recall, De Ketelaere had a disappointing first season in Serie A with Milan as he failed to score a single goal and registered just one assist, quickly losing a starting spot.
A move to Atalanta on an initial loan deal followed last summer and he is now showing why the Rossoneri management invested €35m to bring him to the club after the Scudetto win.
With the brace he scored against Lazio, the Belgian has now hit nine goals and seven assists this season. He spoke after the game and admitted that he is full of confidence.
“Good feelings, I’m going through a good moment. We are happy for this important result,” he said.
“The secret of my growth? I’m trying to learn, following the coach’s advice, but last year in Italy also helped me grow. I haven’t changed.
“Fourth place target? We think game after game, trying to win every time to stay at the top.”
Gian Piero Gasperini has been given credit for CDK’s resurgence given that he has a more prominent role tactically in his system and more freedom to express himself. The Atalanta coach spoke about the 22-year-old after the game.
“He puts a lot of his effort into it, he’s the one who goes on the pitch and puts in these performances. He has found an environment in which he feels good, in recent months he has gained exponentially in confidence,” he said.
“Just look at the penalty, apart from the fact that he takes them well, he tries some difficult plays. He did a lot today, he loses a few balls and recovers them too. We are happy, it was well known that he was a quality player.
“In football we always move forward, he is doing important things, he is playing with ever greater confidence, becoming a point of reference for the team. I think this is the best compliment for him.”
Finally, another former Milan player in Mario Pasalic spoke about what it is like to play alongside De Ketelaere in the playmaker role.
“First of all De Ketelaere is a good boy, he settled in very well very quickly. At Milan perhaps the expectations were too high. We are happy to have him on the team. The goal data is important but the team’s results come first.”
A reminder of the formula of his move to Atlanata: a paid loan costing €3m plus an option to buy set at €22m and a further €2m in bonuses, thus making a total of €27m.
Excellent- keep it up Charles and may you have a long and happy career at slightlybetterthanmidtable Atalanta 👌
Gasp found his new Iličić. I’m happy for the kid.
Why not mention his goal contributions in this article?
It does?
Indeed, apart from two goals he also contributed to the first one. But what’s more interesting to me is that, first goal came from his action he started from left wing. He scored his second goal cutting in from right wing. So it’s not like “he did not suit our system of play”.
I’m happy for De Ketelaere, Maldini also he gets a lot of criticism for that purchase.
I can remember the media always ad De Ketelaere in Maldini fired.
And yet, he’s not a winger. And not a no. 9. And not a no. 10. What is he? I watched the match. Even the commentators were saying it’s hard to pin his position down. I guess the takeaway is that he will thrive under certain coaches with certain systems. Pioli isn’t the right coach and his system isn’t the right system for CDK it seems.
He’s had alot of hockey assists. It’s either he sets up the asisst or is one or two passes away from the assist. Incredible really. He’s very involved in the build up play. But I still see a timid kid despite all this, I still need to see that but of grinta which he still doesn’t have. I’m glad it’s working out for him though. Milan is heavy shirt. At Atalanta it’s easier to develop as there’s less pressure but this is basically what Maldini has been saying too. He’s 21/22, in a new country, league etc he needed to be protected.
what a wonder it is when a player plays in a position and system he likes, right?
Even if he scored he’s still a s#it player, je has no influence in the game. One of the worst Milan player of all time
One of the worst trolling comments of all time.
PATIENCE. That was all that was needed. The talent was there. Just needed time and playing the correct position. Maldini & Co received so much unwarranted criticism for his signing…shame. Well done Charles. GL to you. Let’s hope the $ we receive from his eventual sale will be used wisely
I think the real test will come when he plays for the club that comes after Atalanta (if it is a bigger club).
Exactly. He wasn’t/isn’t ready for a big club. I don’t think he ever will be but I don’t think we’ll even get to know that. A few seasons in Atalanta and then off to somewhere to be forgotten.
Poli love for a real Madrid player Diaz results in loss for Milan. Poli pay needs to be deducted for such silly judgment
Diaz is starting and scoring for REAL MADRID. So playing Diaz over CDK in the attempt to put the best lineup on the pitch to achieve the best result in the immediate term is the basic task of the coach of a club like Milan, not to give game time to players who are not ready to perform in the hopes that they grow up at some point. Otherwise we’d be Atalanta.
Apt.
Not all players are world beaters at 21 years of age. Some just need time to develop their talents and gain experience. Its unfortunate that some fans lack patience and/or common sense. Milan of today is not the same as the Milan of past who can sign any world class players at anytime. In the current situation, we should only sign young players with big potential and mould their talents and mentality into world class players, along with one or two experienced leaders to set examples for them