Welcome to Calcio Square, an email newsletter dedicated to Serie A and Italian football. Every Thursday, I dedicate my entire post to one specific theme or trend. Today's issue focuses on Charles De Ketelaere's incredible turnaround at Atalanta.

Charles De Ketelaere didn't score once for AC Milan in 40 appearances. He missed some absolute sitters, too. He wasn't convincing on the ball and got knocked off it pretty easily. Could he handle the big time? There wasn't a lot to indicate he could.

We know what happened next.

De Ketelaere is now a star for Atalanta and one of the reasons they're competing for the Serie A title this season. He's also one of three players in the top five European leagues to have racked up at least 15 goals and 15 assists in the calendar year.

Hindsight makes Milan look like absolute fools. How could they give up on such a highly rated player after one season?

But is that the question we should ask?

Atalanta gave De Ketelaere more than his confidence back. They gave him support. De Ketelaere wasn't asked to do anything on his own. No one ever is in Atalanta's team-oriented system. With Ademola Lookman often by his side and a wing-back in tow, De Ketelaere can find the gaps left in the wake of Atalanta's penetrating tactics.

De Ketelaere hasn't had to anchor the attack by himself or preoccupy defenders on his own. He has Lookman occupying their attention and sometimes even another center-forward doing the dirty work. He has runners looking for him and runners opening space for him. Crucially, he has the license to roam and switch positions as he sees fit.

De Ketelaere is doing incredibly well as the key cog in a greater system that plays to his strengths. He has more time to carry out a play and pick his spots. Because an Atalanta player is always available, he can turn a defender with a quick one-two, allowing his teammates to find him again in yards of space. If he attacks from the flanks, he can rely on his dribbling ability to bypass his marker. Every situation is covered.

There's just no way he could've achieved this level of clarity at Milan.

Stefano Pioli played him too often as the only striker in his lineup. De Ketelaere would've fit into a similar role in Paulo Fonseca's 4-2-3-1 formation. He also wouldn't have had the same amount of forgiveness and leeway that he's had in Bergamo. He went two months without scoring for Atalanta last season and endured another month-long drought in October. We barely heard a word about it.

Of course, in the ultimate act of revenge, De Ketelaere scored against Milan last Friday. The immutable law of the ex never disappoints. But this is less about the team he left and more about the one he joined.

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