AC Milan beat Premier League strugglers Leeds United to Charles de Ketelaere last summer and director Paulo Maldini admits the former Club Brugge forward was chosen ahead of Paulo Dybala.
If you were to look solely at the numbers, then AC Milan choosing the bouffanted Belgian ahead of a former Juventus talisman may seem, well, a little misguided.
With 16 goals and eight assists, Dybala has been a man reborn under Jose Mourinho at Europa League finalists AS Roma. Charles de Ketelaere, in contrast, is yet to open his Rossoneri account since choosing San Siro over Elland Road during the summer of 2022.
“De Ketelaere is an example of a player who needs to improve,” legendary defender-turned-director Maldini tells Canale5 on Mediaset.
“It would have been easier and cheaper for us to go for a player like Paulo Dybala. But would he have been the right player for our project? Would he have been appropriated by our owners? No.”
AC Milan beat Leeds to Charles de Ketelaere signing
Maldini, however, is refusing to give up on 22-year-old De Ketelaere just yet, amid claims that Leeds are renewing their interest in a player Whites chairman Andrea Radrizzani describes as a ‘special’ talent.
Fellow youngsters Rafael Leao, Pierre Kalulu and Sandro Tonali endured tough starts in red-and-white but are three of the first names on Stefano Pioli’s Milan team sheet these days.
“We have an idea. We want to build a young and talented team. It is risky to recruit young players. Sandro (Tonali) struggled in his first season,” Maldini adds.
“The same thing has happened with Charles this year. But that’s our idea of football, our idea of investing.
“It is an opinion shared with the owners. If I had wanted a stronger line-up, I would have made different choices in the market. We have a project that we are developing together. It takes time, knowing that we are Milan. Who better than me knows our great history?”
According to Le Soir, newly-promoted Burnley have joined Leeds in asking Milan about De Ketelaere’s availability.
“We had a deal with the club (Brugge) but not with the player,” Milan-born Radrizzani recalls to The Athletic.
“It was Charles De Ketelaere, he was the icing on the cake and a special player. But, unfortunately, we didn’t make it. Good luck to him, we were competing with AC Milan who won the title and have the Champions League.
“The fact that he was 50/50 about Milan and Leeds made me really proud.”
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