Assessing the Serie A and UCL squad rules as Milan eye January signings

AC Milan are looking to reinforce their team this month, with several players linked so far, but there are some important squad rules to take into consideration. Indeed, to register new players, some will have to leave. 

As highlighted by MilanNews in a brilliant breakdown of the situation, the squad rules are usually forgotten by fans in these times. Just like the regulations for English players, stopping Milan from signing both Kyle Walker and Marcus Rashford, these rules make a big difference.

Take a look at the current situation for Milan, it’s clear that they would need to part ways with some players – or at least remove them from the squad list – to register signings on the Serie A and Champions League lists. Even for Walker, one must leave first.

Milan’s current squad lists

The rules are almost the same in Serie A and Champions League, with a maximum of 17 foreign players allowed and 8 academy-raised or association-raised  (in another Italian academy) players for a total of 25 players.

In Serie A, players under the age of 22 are exempt from all of the squad rules while u21 players – who from the age of 15 onwards have spent two consecutive seasons at the club – can be registered on List B in the Champions League.

Milan’s current Serie A squad list (foreigners)

1. Mike Maignan
2. Emerson Royal
3. Theo Hernandez
4. Strahinja Pavlovic
5. Malick Thiaw
6. Fikayo Tomori
7. Ismael Bennacer
8. Youssouf Fofana
9. Tijjani Reijnders
10. Ruben Loftus-Cheek
11. Christian Pulisic
12. Samuel Chukwueze
13. Noah Okafor
14. Rafael Leao
15. Tammy Abraham
16. Alvaro Morata
17. Luka Jovic

Milan’s current Champions League squad list (foreigners)

1. Mike Maignan
2. Emerson Royal
3. Theo Hernandez
4. Strahinja Pavlovic
5. Malick Thiaw
6. Fikayo Tomori
7. Ismael Bennacer
8. Youssouf Fofana
9. Yunus Musah
10. Tijjani Reijnders
11. Ruben Loftus-Cheek
12. Christian Pulisic
13. Samuel Chukwueze
14. Noah Okafor
15. Rafael Leao
16. Tammy Abraham
17. Alvaro Morata

Milan’s current academy/association players 

1. Davide Calabria (academy)
2. Matteo Gabbia (academy)
3. Marco Sportiello (association)
4. Alessandro Florenzi (association)
5. Filippo Terracciano (association)

It should be noted that the likes of Alex Jimenez and Yunus Musah are exempt from the Serie A rules due to their age, but only one of them has been included in the UCL list. This is because Jimenez hasn’t been at the club long enough to go on List B, while Paulo Fonseca preferred the American for that final List A slot.

In terms of changes, they can be made at any time for Serie A but Sergio Conceicao will only be able to change the Champions League squad after the league phase (before the knockout phase starts). That is, of course, if Milan make it through.

The key thing to note, as such, is that Milan need to offload some of their players to register new signings – unless they want to take someone off and still keep him on the club’s books. Luka Jovic and Noah Okafor are the main suspects, but it has been quiet regarding them lately.