De Ketelaere, Milan now want goals and courage

With the seat in your pocket, despite everything. Despite a somewhat like start, despite an injury that kept him stationary between Chelsea and Verona, Charles De Ketelaere will still be at the center of Milan: on Saturday against Monza he is the number one candidate for the attacking midfielder.

No overtaking

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Nothing more logical, also because the plans of Pioli and the club for the blond arrived from Bruges have certainly not changed after a couple of months without too many rings (and God forbid, given the weight of the investment, 35 million in total, and the politics towards young people, also made up of patience): to the Devil who needs a real ten, Charles’s imagination and speed of thought will be very comfortable. The point is that, for the fuse to really light up, that spark is needed that has not been seen so far: the Belgian’s potential has remained only partially expressed and the usual suspects Leao, Giroud and Tonali have taken care of the group. The good thing for De Ketelaere is that those who replaced him did not take advantage of the opportunity as he should have, and so the overtaking in the hierarchy remained only an illusion of the “pursuers”. Brahim Diaz, who proved more mature and incisive in the area – when he had space he hit, with Udinese and especially with Juve – but was unable to give continuity. A little for “external factors” (see the red to Tomori against Chelsea, which prompted Pioli to call Diaz back on the bench after 37 minutes), a little for lack of performance, as in Verona. Adli, who with his elegant pace had seduced the fans under the umbrella and for this reason he was one of the most “invoked” on social media, has barred the first as a starter at the Bentegodi: neither dribbling, nor shots, nor goals.

What is missing

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In short, the competition has served such a big assist and De Ketelaere will try to exploit it. Already on Saturday at the San Siro: yesterday, on the day off granted by Pioli to the team, the Belgian still worked at Milanello (like the other famous injured players, Maignan and Kjaer). The muscle fatigue that had forced him to stop on the eve of Chelsea is almost behind him, and if everything goes as expected at the Rossoneri home, Pioli – who has great confidence in CDK’s potential – will be able to field him “90” against Monza and return to the 4-2-3-1 of the house, after the variations on the theme also dictated by the absence of the Belgian. Then the ball will pass to De Ketelaere, who will have to play it with more courage than he has done to date, and correct the defects of the first appearances: the goal that is still missing (since he became a Milan player and in general from mid-April) and above all a more energetic presence in the last sixteen meters. Because at Milan they know how to wait, but whoever takes their place with Charles can’t wait to have another chance.