Club Brugge star linked with Milan and Lazio speaks of desire to play in top leagues
Club Brugge midfielder Charles De Ketelaere, who has been linked with a possible move to either AC Milan or Lazio, has spoken of his desire to play abroad and test his abilities outside of Belgium.
The 19-year-old had a wonderful breakthrough season last term, and he has continued on this rich vein of form this season, even earning his first senior cap for Belgium back in November.
The Belgian, who is currently valued at around £22 million, has a contract that ends on June 2023 with Brugge, and whilst he has said that he is in no hurry to leave the club, he has also stated that he would love to play in other leagues others than those of his homeland in the future.
Speaking with Krant van West-Vlaanderen, he said "Honestly, I do dream of an adventure abroad, but I don't have to right now".
"I will always make a healthy choice. Only sporting ambitions count. You always want to improve."
"There is no concrete career plan. A few foreign clubs were interested, but if I say that I want to stay at Club Brugge for another three years I would be very happy with that."
De Ketelaere has already racked up 50 games for Club Brugge, becoming one of their most important players as they seek to win the Pro League title once again.
He has regularly featured this season, making a total of 33 appearances in all competitions, even popping up with three goals and five assists, with four of those goal contributions coming in his six appearances in the UEFA Champions League, impressing as Brugge just about missed out on a place in the knockout stages, having to content with playing in the UEFA Europa league instead.
The youngster primarily plays as a central attacking midfielder, but he has been deployed as a left winger and even as a centre forward on numerous occasions this season.
De Ketelaere will be keen to continue providing impressive performances for Brugge to earn him a spot in the Belgium squad for Euro 2020, which will push him towards the spotlight even more, with Milan, Lazio, and other European clubs circling around the talented midfielder.
Last season, he finished fifth for the Belgian Golden Shoe awarded, which is awarded to the country's best player, and he was also named as the Best Youngster, and in doing, following in the footsteps of several highly-rated players such as Thorgan Hazard and Youri Tielemans.
