Pierre Kalulu will soon complete a move from AC Milan to Juventus after finally giving the green light following a period of reflection, but his exit alone will not be enough to free a spot for another signing.
According to Calciomercato.com, Milan’s is to try to complete the squad with at least one more signing, with Manu Kone the number one target. Before being able to make a move for him or any other ‘foreign’ player, the directors will have to tackle a much more important problem: the squad list rules.
The regulations for compiling the squad lists for Serie A and the Champions League are mostly simple and also very similar, but it is worth nothing that the one for the league can be modified over time, but for the Champions League amendments can only be made in January.
They must both contain a maximum of 25 players each, at least four of these 25 players must be trained in Milan’s own youth sector and at least another four can be trained in the youth sectors of other Italian teams. In essence, out of 25 slots, a maximum of 17 players can be from non-Italian academies and over 22 years of age.
Up to now and with Kalulu still on the list, all 17 slots have been filled by Maignan, Tomori, Thiaw, Pavlovic, Kalulu, Theo Hernandez, Bennacer, Adli, Loftus-Cheek, Reijnders, Chukwueze, Pulisic, Okafor, Leao, Saelemaekers, Musah, Jovic and Morata.
Kalulu’s exit makes room for Emerson Royal to join the list, but in view of the next match, we will already have to deal with who will have to make room for the inclusion in the list of Youssouf Fofana, a 25-year-old who came from France and therefore will have to be in the 17.
Looking at Fonseca’s latest call-ups, it should be Yacine Adli who makes room for him, thus remaining excluded from the squad lists and a candidate for a sale in these days of the mercato. However, Pobega cannot be the player who makes room for him (although he could also leave) as he is home grown.
So how can Milan make room for Kone, Tammy Abraham or any other last minute idea? The answer must be found in the list already delivered to Serie A. The leading candidates are Ismael Bennacer who has a market in Saudi Arabia, plus two forwards in Luka Jovic and Alexis Saelemaekers.