Albertini on why Milan’s signing of De Ketelaere was delightful

are on the verge of closing the deal with

Charles De Ketelaere

after a lot of negotiations with

to reach this stage. The Belgian forward is on step away from making a move to the Rossoneri, making Stefano Pioli pleased of his addition.

When talking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Demetrio Albertini first talked about whether Milan were slow in their negotiations.

“In recent weeks I’ve heard about Milan being late, about deals that never go through…. We have to understand one thing, Milan’s market is work that starts from far away. 

“Maldini and Massara don’t reason on impulse decisions, there’s a precise design and goals, to reach them it takes time.”

He believed that the played is what they exactly needed to defend their Scudetto.

“Yes, respecting the forwards of the current Milan. With this philosophy they deservedly won a Scudetto and can repeat that. 

“The costs are high, if they decide to invest €35m it means they have carefully evaluated him.”

The ex-Milan midfielder commented on where he thinks Pioli to play the 21-year-old.

“In Pioli’s 4-2-3-1 he can play multiple roles, but he is first and foremost a trequartista. A potential champion, because he is a modern player, of international caliber, and because at 21 years old he already has more experience in the Champions League than many players in current Milan. 

“And then there is the usual factor that will affect, you will see.”

Albertini insisted that Pioli is an important factor as well.

“Stefano Pioli. Tonali, Leao, Theo, Kessie himself… How many has he improved? Great coaches are those with whom champions also grow, but Pioli has done even better, his Milan has become champions by improving. 

“Milan chose De Ketelaere, but he also chose the Rossoneri, he knows that the technical project is perfect for him.”

The Parma sporting director also shared his opinion on why he is interested in De Ketelaere.

“He’s not only talented, he can make himself available to the team’s needs and play in many areas of the pitch. 

“I think he has potential to join the ranks of greats like De Bruyne or Kroos, different from each other in terms of characteristics, but all capable of giving their all in a game of positional exchanges. 

“This is today’s football, in my time Boban was one of the few who interpreted it in this way, he was incredibly modern and had extraordinary qualities, this led him to play as a midfielder, as a winger, as a trequartista, always at a very high level. 

“Here, De Ketelaere is totally different from Boban, but he is as versatile as he was, the tactical path made by Zvone in Milan can be a model, in this sense De Ketelaere can follow in his footsteps.”

Albertini went on to talk about Milan’s interest in signing Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech.

“I’ll just say one thing. Milan have understood where they want to go, in Italy and in Europe. And to win again you need experienced players, I would try, very much.”

Finally, he talked about the summer’s biggest bargain so far.

“To date, the return of Lukaku to Inter. To stay permanently at the top you cannot do without a 20-goal-a-season centre forward. Then maybe at Milan, Giroud will do that, eh.”

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