Following a season with Club Brugge to remember, Charles De Ketelaere was widely expected to leave Belgium in the summer and head to pastures anew.
He had a long list of suitors, among which were Leeds United, who wanted to bolster their squad after just about managing to avoid relegation back down to the Championship under Jesse Marsch.
As well as the Elland Road side, however, were Milan, who had just won the Serie A title and had Champions League football to offer, giving the Belgium everything he was seeking for football wise.
Leeds were prepared to offer Club Brugge more money for the transfer, but the Italians eventually won the race, using the player’s desire to their advantage.
While there’s no denying De Ketelaere will have been happy to sign for the prestigious Serie A club, his start to the season hasn’t exactly been memorable, with just the one assist in 13 games to date, meaning his decision to snub Leeds has yet to pay off on a personal level.
This is a far cry from the 18 goals and 10 assists in 49 appearances last season for Club Brugge, and the Belgian has seen himself relegated to the bench for the past couple of Serie A games, with Brahim Díaz starting in his stead.
The Spaniard has grabbed that opportunity with both hands, scoring two in the 4-1 win against Monza at the weekend, and Corriere dello Sport believe ‘the start of this season clearly hangs in favour’ of the former Real Madrid man.
His ability to also successfully play as a right-winger works in his favour in Stefano Pioli’s plans, and despite his ‘place being jeopardised by the signing of Charles De Ketelaere’, he is currently supplanting his competition.
As for Leeds, they currently sit 18th in the Premier League after 11 games, recently losing 3-2 at home to Fulham.
