Dirty Details
Name: Charles de Ketelaere (CDK in the article)
Nationality: Belgium (1 Senior Cap)
Current Club: Club Brugge
Age: 20 (Birthday, March 10)
Physical Stats: 1.92m, 74 kg
Transfermarkt Value: $17.6M, contract ends 2022
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Strengths: Technique, Work Rate, Positional Flexibility
Weaknesses: Stamina, Getting Lost In Games
To Be Determined: Best Position, Assertiveness on the Ball
This scouting series report brings us to the Belgian league to look at one of not just the league’s brightest prospects but the country of Belgium as a whole. Charles de Ketelaere, who just turned 20, is one of many incredibly interesting Club Brugge players (I will likely look at one later on) and the player on their squad with the most potential. At the ripe age of 20 he’s already earned his first senior cap and probably has many more coming his way (watching him, de Bruyne, and Lukaku could be a joy at the next World Cup!)
I debated if it was worth writing this article, since when he leaves tiny Belgium I reckon he’s much more likely to leave for either the Bundesliga or the Premier League; his stock might just be too high for Atalanta (he’s almost valued close to $20M and he’s barely 20 years old). However, the more and more I thought about it, there’s always a place for another wiry and lanky left footed magician that Atalantini have grown familiar with. While there is no other player in Europe like Ilicic, CDK’s offensive calling cards are similar. He’s got great technique with his left foot and is capable of embarrassing players with skill moves and a strong left-footed shot.
However, the comparisons between the Slovenian and the young Belgian stop there. De Ketelaere is much more lively in the press, hungry to win a ball back after being dispossessed, and can also beat a defender with speed. Additionally, he’s comfortable playing centrally, on the right, and on the left.
As I was watching Brugge play Oud-Heverlee Leuven, I had to level my expectations and continually remind myself that CDK was still only 19 years old. He was good but not spectacular in this particular match, and my biggest criticism of him was his disappearance from the match at times. Expected to be a central figure in the attack, he still went missing quite frequently, and it took him about 10 minutes to get a touch on the ball at the start of the second half. Granted Brugge steamroll pretty much everyone in the league, so there is not a need for him to provide offense all the time, but I would like to see him be more persistent in getting on the ball, because he does have the talent to make plays. To his credit even when he’s not contributing on offense, he stills puts his shift in defensively and has no issue tracking back to prevent a counter attack – which happened quite often in the OHL match (the game was really back and forth). In fact, de Ketelaere’s pressing may even be better than the eye test will lead on, take a look below at the graphic provided by @rodrigoccc97.
CDK is on a straight upon an island for ball recoveries and defensive challenges won. Granted, he did play left back in one match against Lazio which is skewing his performance – but he still would probably be within the Red Bull pressing triangle… suggesting an insane, but also effective pressing attacker. If this doesn’t scream Gasperini, I don’t know what does!
Offensively, two things stood out to me about the Belgian. First, his desire to win a ball back after being dispossessed and spurring a dangerous attack. Against Leuven he pulled this off twice, and was able to put teammates in good positions to attack the opposition. I guess this ties back to his unreal workrate, but is absolutely worth reiterating.
Second, his bag of tricks is quite mature for someone so young. He’s astute to know when to draw fouls, beat defenders with pace, deliver a quick full width pass, and use teammates to draw away defenders to get a shot off. It’s a pretty complete offensive package, that could probably only use some refinement in finishing. Regardless his skill set allows him to play on the wing, as an attacking midfielder, and even a striker if need be. While he’s very tall, I don’t know if his aerial ability is as strong as one might expect, and is probably the only aspect of his game he needs to work on to be a complete offensive player. But don’t forget he’s only 20!
Regardless of where this kid winds up, I’m going to follow him. He is already special, and is complete enough to play in pretty much any offensive system. However, the work rate he possesses makes him the perfect Gasperini attacking midfielder, and his pace and positional flexibility combines all the best aspects of Lesha, Ilicic, and Pessina in one clean package. Honestly, he already seems to be a bit of a rich man’s Sam Lammers. Granted, this would be an extremely unlikely transfer, but hey if Atalanta can get in while the price tag is still low, you never know? I’d love to take a flyer on the guy with the potential to be the next big thing out of Belgium. And with Atalanta’s success scouting the Jupiler League, let’s broaden our horizons outside of Genk and slowly raid the other top teams in the League. Let me know your thoughts!!!
