The bright lights of San Siro will illuminate the top two teams tomorrow night in AC Milan and Napoli, with two young stars looking to stand up and be counter.
La Gazzetta dello Sport writes how there will be no Rafael Leao or Victor Osimhen present, so the two players who are looking to be protagonists in their place are Charles De Ketelaere and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
There are some similarities linking the two. For a start, the Belgian and the Georgian were both born in 2001, and they both considered the move to Serie A to be a step up compared to where they were playing before (Belgium and Georgia respectively).
Both are considered to be investments by their clubs as Milan spent around €35m to sign De Ketelaere from Club Brugge, while Kvaratskhelia cost €10-12m from Dinamo Batumi (via Wikipedia).
Khvicha has undoubtedly made a bigger impact in terms of numbers as he already has four goals and two assists in his eight games in 2022-23, while Charles has one assist but he has not started every game and he is still adapting to Pioli’s complex system.
With Kvaratskhelia there is undoubtedly a more direct approach to his play as his dribbling and shooting have caused almost every team a problem so far, with De Ketelaere instead focusing more on orchestrating attacks with his passing and clever movement.
In the absence of two big players like Leao and Osimhen, the eyes of Italy and the world will be on CDK and KK to see if they can produce and be decisive in a huge fixture.
Also it’s a lot easier to integrate in a new team, new league, new system as a winger than as a n10.
In general it’s a lot easier to play on the wings than in the middle of the attacking midfield
Add the lack of pre-season too.
@Z, Perhaps but Kvaradona has started on fire, irrespective of position.
Too early for me to judge CDK, looking how it took Leao 18 months or so to go from a sporadic contributer at 21 to a world class winger at 23.
But would be great for the confidence of the young man if he could make a telling contribution in a big game. Serie A showdown vs Napoli would be just the right time 😀 😉
Cdk needs time. Kvara has integrated ridiculously well and fast which is quite impressive but this game would be the perfect time for cdk to step up a little
How Milan play against Naples this weekend will give you all a clear indication of how Milan could likely play after Rafael Leao gets sold for at least $80 million Euros in the future.
The team should show we don’t revolve around a one man show. Winning against Naples is a must.
Sure. But if Rafa go and we cash out 80-100 M, there will be at least a same standard player like Rafa in LW
Selling Rafa will be a bad move as it send the wrong signal.
Red Bird want to build Milan through media and commercial sector. If they sell Leao, Milan will be viewed as mediocre team in Europe which won’t be good for their plan as they need to position Milan as top club, not just in Europe but worldwide.
Are you a new Milan fans? Because the team already showed they don’t depend only on Leao.
There was plenty of matches from last season where Leao wasn’t the protagonist / goal scorer.
Watch vs Inter 2-1: Giroud got brace
Watch vs Lazio 2-1: Giroud and Tonali goals
Watch vs Cagliari 1-0: Bennacer goal
Watch vs Empoli 1-0: Kalulu goal
Watch vs Napoli 1-0: Giroud goal
etc
Yes, Leao didn’t contribute much in big matches at Serie A last season. That was the main point for critics. He take a step up this season as he become MotM against inter.
Haha!
Anyone that thinks this management, (Red Bird & Ellie), will renew Leoa’s contract are simply dreaming.
First off they can’t afford it, fact! All their focus is on the stadium and that will be their excuse.
Secondly, by the mere fact they still kept Singer and Gazidis, AKA – “Mr.salary cap” in management. We should forget any increase in contract offer.
Back to the main topic. CDK will perform today, as Milan tend to play well with high press attacking teams. Prediction – MilanWins 2-1
They don’t renew Gazidis’s expiring contract.
“First off they can’t afford it, fact!”
You lost all credibility with that claim. As if you knew anything about their finances. 🙂
Thanks for trying though.