CHARLES DE KETELEARE
Finally it's Charles #DeKetelaere day and after a rather mentally exhausting saga, Milan's persistence along with the players will to play for Milan broke the Brugge wall and with medicals scheduled for Tuesday he is close to being a Milan player.
Finally it's Charles #DeKetelaere day and after a rather mentally exhausting saga, Milan's persistence along with the players will to play for Milan broke the Brugge wall and with medicals scheduled for Tuesday he is close to being a Milan player.
The big question among Milan Fans were, what position is CDK compatible for. The answer to that question will be at the end of the thread.
CAREER SO FAR
CDK made his debut for Brugge on September 25th, 2019 against Francs Borains playing the full 90 minutes. His second appearence came against PSG in a 5-0 loss in the Champions League.
CDK made his debut for Brugge on September 25th, 2019 against Francs Borains playing the full 90 minutes. His second appearence came against PSG in a 5-0 loss in the Champions League.
De Ketleare had a breakout season during the 20/21 season where he scored 5 goals and assisted 8 times in 46 games (3129 minutes) to be exact at the tender age of 20.
A Student at Law University, De Ketelaere trained to be a professional tennis player but he couldn't handle his mistakes or deal with losing on an individual basis. His answer to this problem was playing football.
Ever since the age of 8 he had been at Club Brugge at Youth level. Born and bred Brugge, CDK was called King Charles by Brugge fans.
To cap it all, CDK was awarded, Belgian promising talent of the year in 2020. A prestigious award won by eminent personalities like Lukaku, Kim Clijsters, Verschaeren etc.
PLAYING STYLE
To understand what CDK can bring to the table it is important we understand what his traits are. Here are some of his on the ball and off the ball traits
To understand what CDK can bring to the table it is important we understand what his traits are. Here are some of his on the ball and off the ball traits
1v1
A very important function for any modern winger and something coaches look for in their players is to be good on taking defenders on or to be good at 1v1.
A very important function for any modern winger and something coaches look for in their players is to be good on taking defenders on or to be good at 1v1.
CDK is good at taking on his defenders and beating them making him good in tight spaces and more often than not.
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126774077759488?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
FINDING SPACES
Football tactics is mostly all about creating space and restricting space for your opponents. In a game which is so dynamic the job of an attacker is to find space whether it is in the middle of the pitch or in wide areas
Football tactics is mostly all about creating space and restricting space for your opponents. In a game which is so dynamic the job of an attacker is to find space whether it is in the middle of the pitch or in wide areas
De Ketelaere's tactical intelligence makes him an expert at finding these spaces especially those between defensive lines of the opposition.
Here is another example of how he uses quick feet to make space for a shot
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126633316990976?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
He also has a knack to run into space to link up play with wingers or midfielders of Brugge to create passing combinations.
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126549896421376?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
He also makes intelligent runs in the box to receive passes and then take a shot or cross
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126728158593024?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
BALL CONTROL, FIRST TOUCH AND TAKEDOWNS
With the pace of the game growing at a frightening rate, it is important for players, well even goalkeepers to have a good first touch and bring the ball under control before it is snatched away.
With the pace of the game growing at a frightening rate, it is important for players, well even goalkeepers to have a good first touch and bring the ball under control before it is snatched away.
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126884782280704?t=BWFynPdyRvlI_XFvXIKOaA&s=19
De Ketelaere has an assuring first touch and is not easily pushed off the ball. He also has a very good technique to bring down long balls being played into him
CDK predominantly uses his left foot to dribble but can only use his right foot to take a touch or 2 to throw defenders off.
Like old school strikers De Ketelare would play on the shoulder of the last man and make runs behind the last defender
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126824598167554?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
PASSING
De Keteleare’s main strength is his passing abilty. According to the Athletic, CDK’s progressive passing percentile when compared to the rest of Europe is an impressive 83 percentile. It shows the amount of passes he makes forward and into the penalty zone
De Keteleare’s main strength is his passing abilty. According to the Athletic, CDK’s progressive passing percentile when compared to the rest of Europe is an impressive 83 percentile. It shows the amount of passes he makes forward and into the penalty zone
He also has the ability to switch play brilliantly
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126571258097664?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
HOLD UP PLAY
Having played as a Center forward, De Ketelaere was expected to develop skills that suit a striker and that was to hold up the play. Brugge play a lot using counter attacks and this needed CDK to hold up long balls from the back
Having played as a Center forward, De Ketelaere was expected to develop skills that suit a striker and that was to hold up the play. Brugge play a lot using counter attacks and this needed CDK to hold up long balls from the back
AERIAL ABILITY
Standing tall at 192 cm, De Keteleare is a pretty tall bloke and therefore is naturally expected to be good at headers and be the target of long balls and crosses. While his numbers suggest he isn’t aerially as good as he is expected to be
Standing tall at 192 cm, De Keteleare is a pretty tall bloke and therefore is naturally expected to be good at headers and be the target of long balls and crosses. While his numbers suggest he isn’t aerially as good as he is expected to be
He has shown considerable improvement like how he headed down the ball for Vannaken here
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126155724120064?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
QUICK TURNS OF PACE
De Ketelaere unlike Leao is not the quickest player on the pitch but he has a very rare ability to accelerate very quickly and use quick feet which can help beat /startle defenders.
(to be continued)
De Ketelaere unlike Leao is not the quickest player on the pitch but he has a very rare ability to accelerate very quickly and use quick feet which can help beat /startle defenders.
(to be continued)
It also helps in the case of pressing and closing down opposition players. Here is an example.
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126677839527936?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
Paredes knew he had CDK behind him but there was a considerable distance. Paredes made a bad touch and before he knew it CDK was on to him and took the ball. This is a useful weapon while pressing.
PRESSING AND DEFENSIVE WORK
Club Brugge unlike Milan are not a team that prefers a high press, they rather settle into a mid-block and invite the opponent into their half before launching counters. For this purpose CDK is not engaged in heavy counter-pressing.
Club Brugge unlike Milan are not a team that prefers a high press, they rather settle into a mid-block and invite the opponent into their half before launching counters. For this purpose CDK is not engaged in heavy counter-pressing.
However he has been given the freedom to close down attackers or cut off passing lanes between opposition centre backs as we can see here.
Being 6ft4 tall, CDK has the novelty of using long legs and this gives a better reach and therefore can tackle better for the ball. His workrate has been lauded by his managers and he often tracks back to help his defenders out.
SHOOTING, CROSSING
And of course being a forward player would mean that one needs to have good shooting technique as well. This goal from CDK shows his ability to take shots without taking a touch using the outside of his boot on the volley.
And of course being a forward player would mean that one needs to have good shooting technique as well. This goal from CDK shows his ability to take shots without taking a touch using the outside of his boot on the volley.
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126866604208128?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
He always looks up while making a cross hence waiting for a player to make run into the box.
https://twitter.com/keralista_v2/status/1554126128318517249?s=20&t=HuxRgwAHU6k7p6oAwgOAhQ
STATS
So how does Charles De Keteleare’s stats look like ? Here are some stats
So how does Charles De Keteleare’s stats look like ? Here are some stats
If a player makes a pass which moves the ball from an area where the team is unlikely to score to where they can score they have increased the xT. In short it is a stat which can be used to measure chance creation capacity of the play
Owing to his versatility CDK has the highest xT in his team.
https://twitter.com/DrMukherjeeS/status/1483550968084054023?s=20&t=ioE8-e6DUWrazPcXPTrQ9Q
Charles De Keteleare’s data radar for this season can be as seen below.
CONCLUSION
The Thread started with this question: What is CDK’s best position? My answer is that he has no best position. What MMM have done is they have crunched the numbers, scouted the kid for 2 years and found a player with qualities that suit Pioli.
The Thread started with this question: What is CDK’s best position? My answer is that he has no best position. What MMM have done is they have crunched the numbers, scouted the kid for 2 years and found a player with qualities that suit Pioli.
A highly versatile player but yet to reach his peak and find his strengths Pioli now has the freedom to mould De Ketelaere into a player that suits his style.
#DeKetelaere leaves Belgium as a champion. 3 Belgium league titles and 2 Belgium Super Cups are in his CV before he comes to Milan. In the hands of Zlatan we can and all expect CDK to convert his hate of losing into a desire to win.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
