1 Thing 5 AC Milan Players Must Improve This Summer

Look at the AC Milan roster. There are a bunch of big names on the team, and yet they only managed to finish in 10th place this past season.

It meant the firing of Filippo Inzaghi on Tuesday, with Milan confirming Sinisa Mihajlovic as their next coach on the club's official website.

The club will undoubtedly improve over the next couple of months. Jackson Martinez is heading for San Siro, per David Amoyal of GianlucaDiMarzio.com, and Amoyal also reported that Zlatan Ibrahimovic could arrive soon.

But there are many current squad members set to stay. These players all have a lot to offer, yet none of them have been reliable over the past couple of years.

Here are their prescriptions for the 2015-16 campaign, ranked from the least to most important.

Ignazio Abate

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Ignazio Abate recently signed a new deal with the Rossoneri, keeping him at the club until 2019. He has been with Milan for a decade, transforming from an awkward right midfielder to a speedy right full-back. 

Abate had trouble building on a good start to last season, when he registered four assists in the first four games. He was in and out of the lineup. 

His game in general has stalled. His tackles are strong, but his crosses are volatile; his defensive form is solid, but his offensive contributions are not nearly as good for someone as quick as he is.

To keep his spot at right-back, Abate has to add some balance to his game.

Keisuke Honda

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The 29-year-old Keisuke Honda seems to score in clumps. Like Abate, the Japanese player took Serie A by storm in the early going, with six goals in the first seven games. But he trailed off, left for the Asian Cup and looked like an outsider when he returned.

Honda, unfortunately, has been played out of position at Milan. Both Clarence Seedorf and Inzaghi used him as a winger, even though Honda thrives as the distributor in the hole behind the striker. 

In a new system, Honda may thrive. Mihajlovic likes to employ the 4-3-1-2 formation, and that would allow Honda the opportunity to be a true No. 10.

His work ethic is not an issue. Honda is already a complete professional, working "for 10 hours a day," as Inzaghi told reporters (h/t Football Italia). The player just needs to find the right rhythm in the team. 

Riccardo Montolivo

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He broke his leg just before the World Cup, and he has not been the same since. Because of recurring injuries, Riccardo Montolivo had just 713 minutes of playing time in Serie A this season, according to Soccerway.

As the captain of the team, Montolivo simply hasn't been there for his teammates enough. The armband instead went to several different players, but no one really took command.

The 30-year-old admitted it himself in a January interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Rossoneri Blog):

"Our problem is mental,” Montolivo said. "We’ve failed to stay switched on and focused for 90 minutes."

Questions about Montolivo’s leadership abilities were already being asked; entering his fourth year as a Milan player and his third as captain, Montolivo still hasn’t answered his critics. 

Stephan El Shaarawy

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No one really knows if Stephan El Shaarawy will ever perform the way he did in 2012-13, when he scored 19 goals for Milan in all competitions.

Foot injuries have derailed his career, but El Shaarawy’s biggest problem is his confidence. The 22-year-old needs a solid string of games to get back on track. He also needs to determine where he truly plays at his best: cutting in from the left side or playing more centrally as a second striker?

El Shaarawy cannot afford to lose anymore time. Should he stay with Milan, he must improve on his overall demeanour. His finishing is there—El Shaarawy bagged a brace in the penultimate game of the season against Torino—but the consistency is not.

Mattia De Sciglio

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Mattia De Sciglio has the most work to do of any Milan player. He has significantly regressed over the past couple of years. 

De Sciglio was sent off twice last season. Defensively, he was a wreck; offensively, he was predictable and pedestrian. 

He is no longer guaranteed a start at the left-back position. Luca Antonelli, a perfectly capable full-back on his own, will continue to challenge De Sciglio for that spot. And there’s a good reason why: the 22-year-old Italy international needs to improve in both the mental and physical aspects of the game.