CM: Battle of two struggling playmakers a sub-plot in Milan vs. Inter

By Oliver Fisher -

The game between AC Milan and Inter in Saudi Arabia tomorrow will have a lot of sub-plots as always, but there is an interesting one surrounding two forwards who are going through a difficult period.

Calciomercato.com report that Charles De Ketelaere and Joaquin Correa are two of the players who are among the most technical in the Milan and Inter squads but both are going through a complicated period in their respective careers, accused of playing without the necessary competitive malice.

The investment made on each is comparable too. Correa arrived in the summer of 2021 from Lazio on loan for €6m euros at the request of Simone Inzaghi, and the year after he was bought outright for another €27.387m, making his price tag €33.387m in total.

When adding in his €3.5m net per year salary (€6.48m gross per season) until June 2025 (€25.92m), in total Inter will spend €59.307m when factoring in transfer fee and wages.

That is almost €10m more than the amount invested by Milan for De Ketelaere, who arrived in the most recent summer transfer market from Bruges for €32m plus another €3m in bonuses after a long negotiation.

He signed a deal until June 2027 worth €2.2m net per year and thanks to the Growth Decree that is only €2.88m gross per season, which multiplied by five makes €14.4m for a total of €49.4m.

However, Correa has offered more on the pitch. This season the Argentina is on 21 appearances, with 3 goals scored and 3 assists served in 723 minutes played. De Ketelaere collected the same number of appearances (21), but played more (949 minutes) churning out just one assist without a goal.

It must be noted that Correa is seven years older than the Belgian and has played in Italy since 2015 when he joined Sampdoria where he played for a year and a half and then had a spell at Lazio.

For this reason, the Milan management and the fan base are showing patience towards the Belgian, but the same cannot be said for Inter where there seems to be hope that Correa will be swapped with Depay, a player with three league appearances and one goal this season.

Tags AC Milan Charles De Ketelaere Joaquin Correa
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