De Ketelaere, who joined Milan as a standard king in the summer of 2022, endured a difficult rookie season, scoring only one assist in 40 games, and was not only labeled as a parallel import, but also indirectly dismissed by sporting director Maldini. In the 23 24 season, the Belgian youngster who was loaned to Atalanta regained his life, contributing 9 goals and 7 assists in 26 games, becoming the team's top hand and assist king. Fans can't help but ask, why can't Pioli crack CDKEY?
The tree moves the dead and the dead move the living", De Ketelaere's success is not only due to the "relocation" of the team, but also the reason for the "relocation". When CDK first arrived in Milan, Pioli had just won the league title with the 4231 formation, and his tactical play had matured, so he transformed the Belgian into the team's most scarn-after midfielder. Why retrofit? Because CDK played as a striker during the Brugge period.
After arriving in Milan, De Ketelaere has been unable to adapt to his new role as a striker. Coupled with Pioli's Leoneche and midfielder forward play, the forward CDK's one-acre three-point area was squeezed clean, resulting in his presence in the game becoming less and less. So why can Dias? Because the Real Madrid youngster is an orthodox striker, he has a much stronger sense of position in his own position, and compared to the high position preferred by CDK, Dias prefers to drop back deeply to get the ball, as evidenced by the one-stop scoring against Monza and Juventus.
After De Ketelaere arrived in Atalanta, Gasperini directly copied the homework of coach Club Brugge and reactivated the CDK. When asked how he did it, the boss said bluntly: "I never doubted Charles, he is a striker, whether it is a 3412 or 3421 formation, it is his duty. De Ketelaere only played as a centre-forward or a second-striker in the true blue and black, and he didn't have to worry about being squeezed into space, and he quickly regained his form from the Club Brugge era.
In fact, De Ketelaere was still very impressive when he first joined Milan, scoring a hat-trick in pre-season and providing an assist in his first start in the third round of the league. However, CDK's opening goal was delayed, which seriously affected his self-confidence. In the sixth round away to Samp, he scored a header but it was ruled out for Olivier Giroud for offside.
Since then, against teams such as Torino, Tottenham and Monza, the Belgian youngster has missed many good opportunities and his confidence has been hit. In the case of delaying the opening of the goal account, the 21-year-old De Ketelaere became more and more introverted, and in the later stage, he no longer dared to break through with the ball, but kept choosing to return the pass. Slowly, he became a regular on the cold bench. 
After coming to Atlanta, De Ketelaere finally unloaded his heavy burden and regained his confidence, and it has to be said that there is also a certain amount of luck in the middle. In the first round of the league, CDK, which ushered in its debut, opened its goal account early, and this layer of window paper was finally pierced in Atalanta.
Since then, the Belgian international has been unstoppable, and he has contributed 9 goals and 7 assists in 26 games, becoming the absolute core of Atalanta. Against Lazio, Gasperini directly arranged for CDK to take the first penalty of his career, which was both an affirmation and a further confidence boost. It can be seen that De Ketelaere in the new season dares to make moves again, and he has also had an amazing operation of croquettes in the national team.
Although De Ketelaere did not perform well in his first season, it was somewhat cruel to send him out in his second season. Especially for a 22-year-old player who took the initiative to take a salary cut to join, he has feelings for Milan and has a lot of room for growth, and the team should be more patient and tolerant.
Paqueta is a little further away, but more recently there are Rafael Leao and Tonali, both of whom have only seen rapid growth in their second season with the club. De Ketelaere has always been compared to another Belgian superstar, Kevin De Bruyne, but who remembers De Bruyne's disappointment at Chelsea before he became the heart of Manchester City.
But then again, Pioli won't change the team's tactical play for De Ketelaere alone, and CDK can't learn to play as a midfielder, so he and Milan may really be inseparable. I have to admit that Atlanta's exercise of the buyout option is a win-win outcome. I hope that the Belgian youngster can grow up as soon as possible, at least live up to Maldini's kindness.
AC Milan