Charles De Ketelaere reiterated his excitement at having joined Milan and he explained his qualities as a trequartista.
The 21-year-old Belgian finally signed for the Rossoneri earlier this week following a long set of negotiations, in which Milan had to beat out Leeds United to secure the talented forward’s signature. De Ketelaere signed a five-year deal with the Milanese club and looks set to become a star under Stefano Pioli.
Speaking to DAZN, De Ketelaere first discussed how happy he was to finally put pen to paper with Milan.
“It took a while to get here and that’s why the tension was building a bit. But now I am happy to be here.
“Only the moment I signed the contract and had the shirt in my hands I said to myself ‘okay, now I am a Milan player!’ and I felt really happy.”
The 21-year-old explained why he decided to join the Rossoneri over Leeds.
“It wasn’t the words that convinced me, but what this club are doing. They’re returning to the top again.
“We all see how much young players improve here and as they grow they make the whole team grow. They won the Scudetto, so they’re a great team to mature in if you’re a young player.”
He touched on which players have impressed him the most in Milanello so far.
“Clearly everyone’s level is higher than at Bruges, it’s logical. For example, Leao’s technical quality, Giroud’s finishing. All these things. And I hope to get to this level as quickly as possible.”
The former Club Brugge talent reacted to Divock Origi’s suggestions that he’s partly Kaka and partly Kai Havertz.
“Maybe he compared me to Kaka because he played in Milan or because of the position on the pitch, as for Havertz we are not similar but he is also tall, he is a striker or an attacking midfielder, he is left-footed.
“In that we are similar. But I prefer to say that I’m just myself and in every game I want to show who I am.”
De Ketelaere looked back at some conversations he had with coach Pioli.
“Before signing I talked to Pioli, so I already knew a little bit what he wants and a couple of days ago he showed me with the staff some videos with the style of play he expects from me. I liked it a lot and I saw myself in that style.”
He tried to explain his role on the pitch.
“What they call a ‘trequartista,’ I can do other roles but this is the role I need to focus on right away.
“It’s the style of play I like though, going deep, having freedom around the striker. And I’m looking forward to expressing myself in that position.”
The 21-year-old spoke about some forwards he’s studied.
“I watched videos of the best forwards in the world, Lewandowski, Benzema. The others I don’t remember.”
The Belgian forward underlined his admiration of Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne.
“I’ve always liked De Bruyne a lot, he is one of the best players in Belgium. In my role he’s the best, so I watch how he plays.”
Finally, De Ketelaere discussed the belief that his shirt number 90 means ‘fear’ and what he’d like to change the meaning to.
“I think I would choose ‘ambition,’ because I’m still very young and I have a long career ahead of me, I have the ambition to do great things and so I really think I would choose that.
“I think the most important thing is to win the Champions League, that’s my dream. But now I’m at Milan, so I think it’s easier to win it here than in Bruges, so I hope to win it sooner or later.”