Charles De Ketelaere’s former coach has revealed that he tried to get him to sign for Ajax but ultimately he only wanted to join AC Milan.
De Ketelaere was Milan’s big splash during the 2022 summer transfer window and was meant to be the signing that gave the whole attacking department a boost following the Scudetto win, given the over €30m paid to Club Brugge and the fact he came to fix the problematic attacking midfielder role.
However, things have not gone how the Belgian was hoping by his own admission as he has just one assist to his name so far, having now gone a year since he last scored a goal which was in the Juliper Pro League.
Alfred Schreuder – the former coach of Brugge and last coach to have cheered on a goal from De Ketelaere – spoke about the playmaker in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport and revealed some interesting background.
“Is it a mistake by Milan? Absolutely not, De Ketelaere will be a top player. If he will adapt to the physical impact of Serie A, and for this he needs a year, he will improve a lot,” he said (via MilanNews).
“David Neres took a year at Ajax, it can be the same with him. As for criticism, in the age of social media everyone talks about everything I worked at Barcelona and I remember that after bad matches there were those who criticised Messi.
“What kind of player is he? He reminds me of Frankie de Jong: an intelligent man who gives everything for football. He seems shy but with me he wasn’t: he fought and worked hard. He’s calm and respectful but he hates to lose, he’s very competitive and a winner, with me he had confidence.
“I know he missed big chances but I also know that he knows how to score them. Ah, he’s not one to party in the evening: he’s very professional. He’s a second striker for me, even if he can play on the right. He seems slow but he’s quite fast on the pitch.
“Have I talked to him? No, only at the beginning of the season and he told me he was facing a big step. I can tell you that in the summer I tried to take him with me to Ajax. He didn’t even let me continue, he just wanted Milan.”