Charles De Ketelaere has insisted that he has no regrets about his decision to join AC Milan in the summer, admitting that he still has further steps to take.
The Belgian was Milan’s statement signing in the summer window after they invested over €30m to sign him from Club Brugge after a long negotiation, and at the moment it has become clear he needs time in order to adapt to a new club, a new league and a new country.
So far the 21-year-old has one assist to his name and is yet to score after having netted 18 times for the Belgian champions last season, and he seems to be below Brahim Diaz and even Rade Krunic in the hierarchies for the playmaker role, but time is on his side and there is a trend at Milan of players developing.
De Ketelaere gave an interview to the official media channel of the Belgian national team after he was called up by Roberto Martinez for the World Cup in Qatar, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“It’s a big step for me, I’m happy to have chosen Milan. I still have to do some steps but I’m happy to have arrived here. When I arrived Alexis helped me a lot, Divock was also new while Aster arrived a little later,” he said.
“It is interesting to have Belgian mates on the team and to be able to speak my language with them. I think anyone who has been here can say that Milan is a great city. I haven’t seen everything yet, I’m not here as a tourist but there is a great atmosphere.”
On the call-up for the World Cup: “It’s nice to be part of the national team at such a young age. At the moment we are very lucky as a country, given that we have many stars in the team and a group of players among the best in the world. I want to learn from them and see how they do things, it is important to compete with these great players to do better.
“Playing at the World Cup is much more than a child’s dream, you always try to give your best with the club because you hope to make it to the national team. I will try to lend a hand and I hope to collect some minutes and give my contribution for the team which is the most important thing.”
On his favourite player: “For me it has always been Kevin De Bruyne, for his position on the pitch, for his elegance and for how he plays football and makes things simple. I remember the first goal scored with the Belgium shirt in the match against Italy in the Nations League. I just tried to do my best as always and after the match I had some good feelings.”
