Charles De Ketelaere has struggled to impose himself at Milan since arriving in the summer and the World Cup didn’t exactly I’ve him a confidence boost. But time is still needed, as Luca Serafini argues.
Milan paid €35m for the Belgian playmaker in the summer as they signed him from Club Brugge. De Ketelaere has since registered just one assist and he has struggled to impose himself, often losing out on the starting spot against Brahim Diaz.
However, as we have seen with many of the current Milan players, time is needed to really explode. A very topical example is Lucas Paqueta, who has grown a lot since leaving the Rossoneri and Luca Serafini believes he’s a good precedent.
“In the Rossoneri Christmas catchphrases, De Keteleaere is often mentioned, for whom there is no patience and no serenity. Yet it would be enough to point to the gradual breakthrough of Lucas Paqueta, who took it step by step. Like Andre Silva, and others who made it.
“And then there are others who didn’t make it, like Cutrone. But what’s clear is that patience is needed to understand exactly how things are. Had that not been the case for Calabria, Tonali and Leao, they would be elsewhere today.
“I trust in the glimpses we have seen and above all the therapist Stefano Pioli,” Serafini wrote in his latest editorial for MilanNews.
In short, De Ketelaere needs to be given 1-2 full seasons before a verdict really can be made. Losing hope so early would be foolish and it’s clear that Stefano Pioli still is confident, just like the Milan fans should be.
