For them, landed in Serie A this summer, the season is far from obvious.
It’s not the Belgians’ season in Italy. Already, because none of our representatives should finish crowned this season, the fault of Napoli’s outrageous domination in the league.
Then, because several Red Devils arrived in the country this summer, and so far their performance has been disappointing. There Gazzetta dello Sport indeed names no less than three Belgians in his compilation of failed transfers of the season: Romelu Lukaku, Charles De Ketelaere and Divock Origi.
The Gazzetta first regrets the missed season of Lukaku, struggling with numerous injuries. “Romelu Lukaku was supposed to be the big hit on the nerazzurri market, a perfect deal from an economic point of view: a loan payment of 8 million to Chelsea after the Blues snatched him from Inter in the summer of 2021 with a transfer of 115 million”, begins the newspaper. “Big Rom was, in Inzaghi’s mind, the battering ram to ‘break through’ opposition defences. Instead, his double injury to his left thigh conditioned his season a lot.”
The acknowledgment of failure is also present in the case of the two AC Milan players. “The most painful flop is undoubtedly that of Charles De Ketelaere, snatched from Bruges with a transfer of 32 million plus 3 million in bonuses at the end of a real showdown. The Belgian talent, despite the opportunities that Pioli gave him , has hardly ever convinced and, in 31 appearances for the Rossoneri, he is still at zero goals. The constant comparison with the Ballon d’Or Kaka may have also weighed in the balance”. Nevertheless, the paper is not intended to be overly incendiary. “Wasted money? It’s easy to make that judgment, but you have to remember that De Ketelaere comes from the class of 2001. He’s on his first away experience and adapting to a championship tactics like ours is not easy.”
Regarding Origi, the Gazzetta is perhaps even more severe. “He is almost never in top form due to physical problems and has only scored two goals in Serie A (…) It could have been appropriate to find a striker who has played and scored more (7 goals in total ) in the last two seasons (…) In short, he almost always started on the bench and played a marginal role.”
We hope for much more success next season!