Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez has backed both Divock Origi and Charles De Ketelaere to make a big impact at AC Milan this season and into the future.
Milan have taken on somewhat of a Belgian flavour this summer as Origi arrived on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract with Liverpool while De Ketelaere joined from Club Brugge for a figure widely reported to be €32m plus bonuses.
They join Alexis Saelemaekers who arrived at Milan on an initial loan deal from Anderlecht in the 2019-20 season before that was made into a permanent deal, so now Martinez knows that his national team has a colony in the north of Italy.
Martinez spoke during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport about the two new arrivals that the Rossoneri have welcomed, and he backed each of them to be a big success at San Siro.
“Origi is mature and has had the privilege of being in an incredible dressing room like that of Liverpool. Despite playing little from the start, he has decided many games,” he began (via SempreMilan.it).
“Now he has the right desire to start from the beginning, also because Divock has a gift: in difficult moments, he suddenly appears and is decisive. I think he is ready to be in a new team at the level of Milan: it is important that his team-mates show him the way after the title win.
“De Ketelaere steals your eye, leaves you speechless with his technical ability, plasticity and elegance. He has a coordination, a skill in the last pass and in kicking on goal that few others at his age have in Europe.
“Let’s focus on the pitch and not on comparisons. Charles has always grown, we have accompanied him in a project from the Under 21 to the first team and he has an extraordinary ability to occupy all the attacking zones. He knows how to adapt to needs above all thanks to his technique. Over time, Charles can stay in the footsteps of the greats of the Rossoneri tradition.”
