Atalanta Bergamo have strengthened their attack on a permanent basis: The Europa League winners announced on Saturday that they have exercised the option in the loan contract of striker Charles de Ketelaere and thus signed him permanently. Milan are delighted with the windfall – and a resale fee
Charles de Ketelaere has really arrived in Italy since last season. The former Belgian top talent moved from his home club Brugge to AC Milan in the summer of 2022 for over 35 million euros. Although he made 40 competitive appearances for the Rossoneri, he did not score a single goal and only provided one assist.
The Rossoneri wanted to give the European Championship player some match practice, which is why they loaned de Ketelaere to Atalanta Bergamo for an initial three million euros. The striker hit the ground running there and was directly involved in 25 goals in 50 competitive matches (14 goals, eleven assists).
An investment that paid off for Atalanta: Bergamo stormed into the national cup final (0:1 against Juventus), qualified for the Champions League via the league, which it would have reached even without finishing fourth in Serie A thanks to its sensational Europa League triumph.
Atalanta wanted to lower the price first
Surprisingly, de Ketelaere and Atalanta were subsequently thinking about keeping him on. However, according to Italian media reports, Bergamo initially tried to lower the fixed price for the 15-time Belgian international (two goals). Milan, however, remained firm.
According to reports, Atalanta will now pay a transfer fee of around 22 million euros, which could rise by a further two million euros due to various bonuses. There is also said to be a sell-on fee – probably amounting to ten percent
Will Zirkzee be Milan’s “new number 9”?
For Milan, it’s a warm shower of money that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is happy to accept in his new role as senior advisor. The Swede, who spoke publicly as an official for the first time on the day new Milan coach Paulo Fonseca was announced, was no longer planning to work with de Ketelaere anyway. The top priority on the transfer market is a “new number 9”, who could well be Joshua Zirkzee.
