Since the start of the season, several Belgian internationals have made highly anticipated moves to the Serie A but have yet to fulfill their full potential and live up to the expectations of the supporters.
After having departed Inter to Chelsea last season for a lucrative 110M euro fee, the 29-year-old Romelu Lukaku made his surprise return to the club for a season-loan with an 8M euro fee attached to it. Lukaku was eager to return to the San Siro but, to date, he has struggled heavily as he only made seven appearances within the Serie A, amassing only one goal and one assist, due to a series of consecutive injuries.
In addition, Inter’s cross-city rivals Milan have acquired Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge, a promising prospect that was seen as the root to solving the Rossoneri’s issues in terms of creativity within the final third. The 22-year-old has been facing an immense amount of pressure from the fans and the media following his lucrative transfer worth over 35M euro, but he has yet to score a single goal and has lost his spot within the starting eleven under Stefano Pioli.
With plenty of uncertainty and fear surrounding the pair of Belgian internationals, The Cult of Calcio’s correspondent Julian Faustini asked Belgian journalist and correspondent Sacha Tavolieri to provide his insight on the circumstances of several players within the Serie A, as well as on some promising starlets linked to the topflight Italian league in this exclusive interview:
Julian: What are your thoughts on Romelu Lukaku’s season so far and where do Inter stand in renewing the loan after his poor run of form since returning over the summer?
Sacha: “Yes, I think it’s a quite difficult season for Romelu because he’s getting a lot of injuries, while he was thinking about making a big comeback and doing big things. I believe that his physical ability is not following him, and that is the worst thing for a professional footballer. So, this is really something that I can understand.
Of course, there is something that didn’t help him which was all the remarks he made when he was still at Chelsea, claiming that he had not left Inter in the right way, that he would come back at some point, and so on. I think he has a sort of an “American way” of speaking. That is really interesting in terms of entertainment. Lukaku is very intelligent and open-minded but sometimes you just need to keep your thoughts to yourself.
People went hard on him at Chelsea for such remarks but, for me, he was just sincere and honest for a moment. I think he just did not realize what could be the consequences of speaking so openly.
Since returning to Inter, he’s only had a few games before getting injured. He did not have a good preparation in the summer and the World Cup was a nightmare for him so that’s a bit of a difficult situation. The competition upfront at Inter is tough too, with Edin Dzeko putting together some really good numbers. That doesn’t help either.
As things stand, I guess Inter will not renew his loan next summer, so he will have to come back to Chelsea and fight for his position there, or perhaps go on loan somewhere else. I don’t see a positive future for him with Nerazzurri. He made the mistake to leave Inter in his best moment. Maybe that was not entirely his choice since the club needed to cash in from his sale, but I guess he’ll regret that move for the rest of his career.”
J: Charles De Ketelaere has had a slow start to the life in the Serie A since joining from Club Brugge. What are your thoughts on his overall play and why has it been difficult for him to adapt? Should the Milan fans be concerned?
S: “No, I don’t think that the Milan fans should be concerned. You know, it’s really difficult to come and be really efficient from the start in Italy when you join from the Belgian Pro League, which is not among the top five leagues in Europe. The intensity that you are asked for daily from your coach is very different.
One important detail that many people tend to leave out is that Charles didn’t make the pre-season preparation with Milan. I followed his transfer saga in the summer, and I was worried that people would expect him to fit into the Rossoneri’s mechanisms from the get-go and start scoring straight away. That is absolutely not possible, especially with Stefano Pioli’s tactics.
It is important to understand that he will need time, even though the world and the industry of football need players to be efficient straight away. De Ketelaere is only 22, so I say let’s just wait for him to completely adapt and do a full preparation with the club next summer, and then we can judge him.
If he keeps performing like this next season, then we could say that purchasing him for 36M euro was not a smart decision. Personally, I think this was a good investment and I’m sure Paolo Maldini knows what he’s doing. But people just need to give him time.”
J: Alexis Saelemakers seems to struggle for form yet again under Pioli. What are your thoughts on his season so far and what may be the reason for his lack of consistency? In addition, seeing that Milan are heavily looking for a right winger, could they possibly offload him this summer and, if so, which clubs could be interested?
S: “Alexis is a good player but a player also needs to fit in his coach’s system and be efficient for it. When they purchased him, Milan did not understand that he is not a right-back, so he could not play in a system where Pioli wants his wingers to both attack and defend. He is more of a pure midfielder.
I guess this system is just not the best for him. Still, he has been performing and developing himself a lot since joining Milan, which was not the case when he was at Anderlecht. Breaking into the starting eleven at Milan is a big achievement. We expect a lot from Alexis and that is normal since he is in a top club, but he was already told in the summer to see if there were possibilities for him at any other club because he was just not suitable for that system of play.
In terms of clubs potentially interested in him, there are some Bundesliga teams like Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. I think Mainz have also enquired about him. Given the system he’s playing in, he cannot do what he is best at, but I do believe that he could do much better if deployed as right midfielder in a 4-4-2 setup.”
J: One player that is currently playing in Belgium and that has been heavily linked to the Serie A is Canada’s Tajon Buchanan. Which clubs seem the most interested in him and, is a move to Italy likely? If not, which clubs did express a desire to sign him?
“I believe some clubs in Germany and, moreover, in France are keeping tabs on him. I know that Lille requested some information, for example. Tajon could well play for Italian top clubs as well but, to be honest, I don’t see his profile fit for any Serie A club at the moment.
Perhaps, if we think about how Roma played when they got Mohamed Salah, that 3-4-1-2 setup would suit him. Still, I think that in France his characteristics would be more welcome so perhaps the Serie A would not be the best championship for him.”
J: Thank you for your time, Sacha!
S: “Thank you guys for the interview!”