CHARLES DE KETELAERE: OUR FOCUS

It's been a long road but the deal is finally done. AC Milan have made a big move and signed the 21-year-old Belgian Charles De Ketelaere. This is the Rossoneri's fourth new arrival of the summer following Origi, Adli and Pobega's return from loan. The Club wanted to bring him in and, before we have the chance to see him at work, let's get to know him a little better.

Born on 10 March 2001 in Bruges, the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, De Ketelaere began his career with his hometown club. In 2009, he joined Club Brugge's youth academy and made his professional debut ten years later in the Belgian Cup. One month after that, he was playing against PSG in the Champions League. His first European goal came in the group stage of the 2020/21 season when he bagged both home and away against Zenit. To date, he has made 19 appearances in European football.

In domestic football, meanwhile, he already has three major honours to his name: three consecutive league titles (2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22) and two Belgian Supercups (2021 and 2022). Charles has, in recent years, starred for the Blauw-Zwart (Blue-Black), scoring 25 goals and providing 20 assists in 120 appearances for the club. He has become one of the most promising talents in world football and, last season in the Jupiler Pro League, had the most goals (14), most attempts (79), most shots on target (32) and the most chances created (71) of any Club Brugge player. Despite his tender age, he is already a top-level athlete and is accustomed to the big stage. He has already won eight caps for Belgium and scored his one international goal to date against Italy.

Elegant, left-footed, quick and clever, he has all of the right characteristics. He can dribble, pass and shoot. He loves to drop in space and can play any role in attack; Pioli's 4-2-3-1 formation seems well suited to get him playing in that number 10 position. He is great on the ball, is a willing runner and stands tall at a whopping 192cm. AC Milan fans have already given him a warm welcome and can't wait to see him out on the pitch. Welcome to the Rossoneri, Charles!

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