AC Milan have had a slow start to the summer transfer window, but with things beginning to heat up and multiple deals in the pipeline the management must have an eye on the regulations.
As Calciomercato.com report, the weekend seems to have brought accelerations on various negotiating tables and now at least two signings seem imminent.
After adding Alvaro Morata for €13m, Geoffrey Moncada and co. are working on Strahinja Pavlovic, Youssouf Fofana, Emerson Royal, Lazar Samardzic and potentially some hidden names too.
Milan must consider the regulations in both the Serie A and UEFA squad lists, as well as the rules when it comes to signing non-EU players, and they have been outlined below.
Serie A rules
The 20 teams participating in the 2024-25 Serie A season are required to present a list of 25 players to be used during the season. Each team can register Under 22 players – or players born after 1 January 2002 – without limits.
Of the 25, at least eight must be players trained in the youth sector of an Italian club and of these eight at least four must be players trained in the club they belong to.
In order to count as an Italian/club youth sector graduate, they must have had permanent registration (loan spells therefore permitted) for at least three complete seasons in Italy between the season in which they turned 15 and the season in which they turned 21.
At present, Milan has only three players who came through Serie A academies: Alessandro Florenzi, Marco Sportiello and Filippo Terracciano. There are also only players trained at the club: Matteo Gabbia, Tommaso Pobega and Davide Calabria.
Yunus Musah and Alex Jimenez can be included among the Under 22s, but it means only 17 players can go on the over 22 list. Presuming the signings of Pavlovic, Emerson and a new midfielder, those excluded would be Yacine Adli, Alexis Saelemaekers, Divock Origi and Fode Ballo-Toure.
In the event of the sale of either Malick Thiaw or Ismael Bennacer, it seems as though the most likely candidate to get a slot would be Saelemaekers, who was publicly praised by Fonseca after the friendly with Manchester City.
UEFA rules
The UEFA list also provides for the registration of 25 players. Under 22s, or those born on or after 1 January 2003, are not counted unless they have been part of the club for two years in a row from the age of 15 onwards and they are included in ‘list B’.
Furthermore, players registered for three years from the ages of 15 to 21, but who have gone on loan and do not have at least three seasons with the club in that age group, do not enter the ‘club trained’ category.
In the Champions League, as in the league, if the team in question is unable to meet the required constraints, the number of 25 players that can be registered is reduced.
The Rossoneri can register Sportiello, Terracciano and Florenzi in the ‘Italian trained’ category, while Gabbia, Calabria and Pobega are Milan academy products.
Consequently, Milan’s total squad spots would be reduced, since there are not the four home-grown players in the squad that are required at the moment.
Non-EU slots
Ever since the year 2002, there has been a regulation in place regarding Serie A clubs and how many non-EU players they are allowed to register per season.
The new changes to the regulations provide that each club can register two non-EU players without the restriction of one being a replacement. Up until and including this season it was possible to register two non-EU players, but one would have to replace a departing non-EU player.
It is important to note that the total quota does not change, meaning each club will still be able to register a maximum of two non-EU players. Selling a non-EU player does not free up a spot for a third new signing, in essence.
Signing Pavlovic, for example, would take up one of the two non-EU slots (Serbia are not in the European Union) and thus the Rossoneri would have one left, while Sky reported that Emerson Royal does not have an EU passport either. Thus, both slots could be gone within a few days.