Charles De Ketelaere was AC Milan’s big summer signing and though he is yet to get off the mark in terms of goals, there are plenty examples that prove patience is key.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how Rafael Leao went through a journey of being an inconsistent talent to the Serie A MVP, and last year he led Milan to the Scudetto with 11 goals and 12 assists, a far cry from two years ago when he wasn’t even guaranteed of a starting spot.
Theo Hernandez went from being branded by Marco Giampaolo as ‘tactically undisciplined’ in 2019 when he was the back-up to Ricardo Rodriguez, and he is now considered one of the best left-backs in the world.
Sandro Tonali’s first season at Milan on loan from Brescia did not go all to play as he often found himself behind Franck Kessie and Ismael Bennacer in the pecking order, but he kept his head down in order to learn and grow, becoming virtually undroppable now.
Then there is Pierre Kalulu, who arrived as a relative unknown from Lyon’s academy where he was a full-back, then during the Scudetto season he was the starting centre-back in a pairing with Fikayo Tomori that conceded two goals in the last 11 league games of the season.
Alexis Saelemaekers was another unknown quantity when he arrived from Anderlecht on an initial loan and he played his first game as a right-back, now transitioning to a wing-back after time as the right winger, providing crucial balance given the attacking tendencies of the left flank.
Finally, there is Ante Rebic. In his first six months at Milan he had no goals and no assists. He transformed in the second half of the 2019-20 campaign, netting 11 goals in 19 games.
