Charles de Ketelaere turned down a Premier League move with Leeds United last summer and now admits that his time at Serie A champions AC Milan has been ‘disappointing’ so far.
You can say that again.
Across 31 games, De Ketelaere has produced one assist and a grand total of zero goals so far for the Rossoneri.
This was not what Paolo Maldini had in mind when the San Siro chief made the Belgium international the most expensive signing of his reign last summer, investing £30 million in a player who hit double figures for both goals and assists in 2021/22.
Charles De Ketelaere chose AC Milan over Leeds United
“Disappointing. Indeed, negative. This certainly wasn’t my expectation,” De Ketelaere admits to Het Laaste Nieuws.
“After an excellent season with Club Brugge and after my transfer to Milan, which I don’t regret, I would have hoped to be more important than I have been up to now.
“There are so many reasons (why I am struggling). One is the environment – a higher level of football – and the adaptation to many things. (Such as) life off the pitch.”
De Ketelaere opted against joining Leeds some eight months ago. Chairman Andrea Radrizzani confirms that the 22-year-old was indeed one of Leeds’ priority options, but the one-time Arsenal and Newcastle target could not ignore the lure of the reigning Scudetto holders.
“Leeds United offered forty million euros (£35 million),” explains Club Brugge CEO Vincent Mannaert. “It is not that De Ketelaere was not interested. But, at that time, his preference was for AC Milan.
“In the end, it turned out that (we agreed a deal) relatively quickly. Charles understood that Milan initially offered too little. Leeds were willing to pay more, but we also respected the choice of our player.”
In De Ketelaere’s defence, he is not the first young player to struggle at a new club or in a new league. Milan team-mates Rafael Leao, Sandro Tonali and Pierre Kalulu took their time to get going too before settling at San Siro.
But until De Ketelaere does the same, his reputation as a £30 million ‘flop’ will be difficult to shake off.
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