5 AC Milan Players to Watch out for in 2015-16 Serie A Season

The 2015-16 season is an important one for AC Milan. The club has missed out on European football for two consecutive seasons, finishing 10th in Serie last season, their lowest league position in 16 years.

In recent months Sinisa Mihajlovic has been appointed as coach and several new signings have been made as the club attempts to turn around its fortunes. The prospect of a third consecutive year outside of the top six is unthinkable and so this season results must improve.

There are several players who could be crucial in this process. Some are already established in the Milan first team, some have been on the fringes, some have only just joined, but all have a big year ahead.

Here are five such Milan players to keep an eye out for in the 2015-16 Serie A season, with all statistics kindly provided by WhoScored.com.

Luca Antonelli

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After a wonderful first six months of last season with Genoa, Luca Antonelli joined Milan on an initial loan deal with an eventual mandatory permanent deal in January of this year.

The Italian international left-back slotted in comfortably, adding pace, purpose and solidity to the left side of the defence. Now entering his first full campaign with the club, Antonelli could be key to Milan’s ambitions.

Nobody in the team made more tackles per game than he last season, with his 2.6 only challenged by Mattia De Sciglio’s 2.4. However, De Sciglio appears to be the player paying for Antonelli’s good form.

The youngster was out of form last season and currently seems to be unsure of what his best position is. While he figures that out, Antonelli should hold down the left-back berth with aplomb.

Carlos Bacca

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Colombian hitman Carlos Bacca was one of the stars of Sevilla’s Europa League win last season, scoring twice as the Andalusian side defeated Dnipro in the final. They were to be Bacca’s last for the club, as he soon departed for Milan in a £21 million deal.

A cold and clinical finisher, Bacca could well be just what Milan need. Last season the Rossoneri depended on Jeremy Menez for goals, the Frenchman scoring 16 in Serie A, but Menez isn’t an out-and-out striker, nor can he be relied upon to reach that tally every year.

As such, Bacca’s signature was a genuine statement of intent, not just because of the hefty price tag involved, but because of what he brings to the table.

There are roadblocks—he will have to settle in Italy and learn to best organised Serie A defences—but Bacca has had no problem scoring elsewhere and so should be expected to comfortably hit double figures in his debut season with Milan.

Giacomo Bonaventura

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Japanese playmaker Keisuke Honda has impressed in pre-season as Milan’s creator-in-chief, playing in the hole between midfield and attack. His status as the team’s No. 1 in this position is far from certain, however.

Giacomo Bonaventura arrived at Milan from Atalanta to little fanfare at the start of last season, but over the course of his first campaign he cemented his place as an important first-team member.

However, with new coach Mihajlovic’s preference for a 4-3-1-2 formation with one playmaker behind two strikers, Bonaventura will have to fight for his place in the team.

Statistically, the Italian international does well when compared to Honda, his main rival for the attacking midfield position. His seven goals last season were bettered only by Jeremy Menez and his four assists were just as many as Honda could produce.

Elsewhere, Bonaventura trumps Honda in terms of pass success and number of key passes per game, as well as being dispossessed less and having better ball control.

Honda may begin the 2015-16 season as Milan’s playmaker but, over the course of the campaign, expect the underrated Bonaventura to make a serious case for his own selection in that role.

Rodrigo Ely

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Milan’s need for a new central defender is still great, as we enter the final hurdle of pre-season before the Serie A campaign kicks off on 23 August, the Rossoneri still haven’t added to their central-defensive roster.

It’s a worrying state of affairs built mainly around the club’s unwillingness to pay what Roma have so far demanded for Alessio Romagnoli, though the deal now appears close to being concluded, per Goal. The 20-year-old would be a vast improvement on Milan’s current options, though there is another youngster who could have his say this season.

Rodrigo Ely was recalled to the club after an impressive loan spell in Serie B with Avellino and his ascendancy was confirmed by new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic using him frequently throughout pre-season tours of China and Germany.

Ely appeared unflustered by his changing circumstances, playing with composed assurance. Even if Romagnoli does join, Ely should have a role to play in the 2015-16 season.

M'Baye Niang

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Twenty-year-old French forward M’Baye Niang joined Milan in 2012 as a highly rated prospect. Thirty-eight appearances and one goal later, however, his career with the club was on the line as he left for a loan spell with Genoa midway through last season.

There, under Gian Piero Gasperini’s tutelage, Niang began to prosper, revelling on the left of a front three and scoring five goals in 14 appearances.

It was that form that appeared to persuade Milan to tie Niang to an extended contract until 2019 during the summer, while he has also been prominent in the club’s pre-season fixtures.

New additions Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano may be the standout strikers in Milan’s squad, but Niang offers pace, trickery and direct running, whilst also possessing more upside. He could compete with and possibly even beat Adriano to a starting spot up front alongside Bacca as the 2015-16 season wears on.