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Cheveyo Balentien only arrived a few weeks ago, but he has already found himself a surprise protagonist at AC Milan.
Corriere dello Sport recall that throughout his career Adrien Rabiot has often worn the number 25. He wore it at PSG, during his time at Juventus and in his only season at Marseille. However, he won’t be able to wear it at Milan.
The number 25 jersey was already taken and it is on the shoulders of a very young player, born in 2006, of Dutch nationality, with only a handful of minutes of professional playing time: Cheveyo Balentien.
The 18-year-old, born in Almere, arrived in Italy last August 21st, having been picked up for a fee of approximately €100,000 from ADO Den Haag Under-19s. He signed a contract with the Rossoneri until 2030.
Allegri takes a liking
The idea is that he’ll be a reinforcement for Milan Futuro. Up until now, while waiting for the start of the Serie D season, Balentien has played in both Coppa Italia Serie D matches, providing an assist. Opportunities in football, however, are never lacking.
Somewhat surprisingly, the teenager immediately had the opportunity to make the leap to the senior squad. Milan officially signed him on August 21st, and a week later – on August 29th – he made his Serie A debut, replacing Santiago Gimenez in the 87th minute of the match against Lecce.
He immediately showed his athleticism to manufacture a chance. Standing at 1.90m, some compare him to the very first version of Rafael Leao, the skinny and gangly player who arrived at Milan from Lille at a young age. Obviously he has a long way to go to reach the levels Rafa has, though.
PSG also had their eye on Balentien, but the early summer trial wasn’t very successful. He worked hard, was observed and then Milan called. Given the crisis in the attacking department going into the Bologna game, the electronic board may just show the number 25 again.
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