Atalanta CEO confirms the plan for De Ketelaere: 'We will make it happen'

The Atalanta president Antonio Percassi has confirmed that the club plan to buy Charles De Ketelaere from AC Milan on a permanent basis.

De Ketelaere arrived at Milan in the summer of 2022 and was the marquee signing of the post-Scudetto transfer window, joining from Club Brugge for a fee above €30m. However, he never hit the ground running and he did not manage to score a single goal in his first season.

The decision was made to send him out on loan to Atalanta last summer, and it would be fair to say that he is very much back on track. The Belgian has racked up 11 goals and nine assists in 44 games so far, leading to suggestions he will join La Dea permanently.

As Fabrizio Romano reports in a tweet, Percassi spoke after Atalanta’s Europa League win over Marseille last night and he was asked about the idea of signing De Ketelaere on permanent deal.

His response was clear: “We will make it happen.” Romano adds that Atalanta have €23m option to buy clause plus €4m add-ons and 10% sell-on clause for Milan.

Given that Atalanta have reached the Europa League final following last night’s result, it will certainly boost their available budget.