5 Players Players AC Milan Should Move in the January Transfer Window

For a team that has no European obligations, AC Milan have a massive squad. There are 28 players listed on the first team on the team's official website.

That's an incredible number—and an unmanageable one. With only one game a week to work with—plus whatever the Coppa Italia might bring—it's impossible to give all those players time on the field. Having to chase the European-qualification positions only makes things worse. The best players need to be on the field as much as possible in order for Milan to move up the table.

That makes things hard on manager Sinisa Mihajlovic, part of whose job is to keep everyone on the team as sharp as possible. He hasn't had much of a chance to rotate in some fringe players. When he took last Tuesday's Coppa match against Serie B side Crotone to do just that, it very nearly came back to bite him—the 18-time Italian champions needed extra time to put away a team that has never seen Serie A.

Mihajlovic needs this squad pared down. He has enough on his plate clawing this team back toward respectability to have to also figure out just how to rotate nearly two-and-a-half-dozen men.

Fortunately, there are quite a few players would can be seen as candidates for a sale or a loan. We're going to look closer at five of the men the Rossoneri should take the opportunity to take off the books, whether that be temporarily or for good.

Jose Mauri

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Nineteen-year-old midfielder Jose Mauri came to Milan this summer on a free transfer after the long, slow death of Parma finally came to pass.

Many fans hoped he would be given a chance and provide a badly needed creative outlet in the midfield, but he's been completely frozen out of the midfield picture despite injuries to the likes of Andrea Bertolacci and Nigel de Jong.

He finally got the chance to play competitively for the Rossoneri when he was handed a starter's shirt for the Crotone game. He didn't impress. He couldn't generate any sort of connection with the strikers and was physically outclassed for much of the game. He was routinely bumped away from the ball with little effort by Crotone's midfielders. The only noteworthy contribution he made to the game was getting booked.

Mauri should still be considered a potential contributor in the future for Milan, but that won't happen this year. Football Italia reported in November that Atalanta and Bologna were both waiting on a potential loan move.

Bologna may be the best destination. The team needs help after spending the majority of the season in the relegation zone. Most importantly, they are now coached by Roberto Donadoni, who gave Mauri the extended run Parma's first team that got him noticed in the first place.

Wherever he goes, staying in Milan will do him no good. He needs to be loaned out or he'll stagnate.

Rodrigo Ely

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At the beginning of the season, it looked like Rodrigo Ely would be Alessio Romagnoli's partner in defense. The two played together a lot in preseason when Romagnoli arrived from Roma, and they partnered to shut out Perugia in the Coppa Italia in August.

But when Milan started league play, the partnership fell apart quickly. Ely only spent 36 minutes on the field before getting a second yellow card in the season-opening 2-0 loss to Fiorentina. His only other start came when Romagnoli was suspended after his own red card—Ely featuring during Napoli's 4-0 obliteration of Milan at the San Siro in October, in which he capped the humiliation with an own goal.

Ely is solidly buried behind four other players on the depth chart. He isn't playing despite the fact Cristian Zapata is making colossal errors at the back. If Mihajlovic doesn't rate him enough to play him over the dumpster fire the Colombia international has become, he's not going to play at all.

He needs a loan, preferably to a lower-level Serie A side. Until this year, he had never actually played in the top flight, instead spending his career on loan in Serie B. He needs major seasoning—especially to get rid of his nasty propensity for cards.

Keisuke Honda

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Given the saga Milan went through to get Keisuke Honda in 2013, he hasn't given them much of a return. He's produced only seven goals and six assists in 54 games despite spending most of those games as a forward.

Yes that is slightly out of position for the Japan international, who is naturally an attacking midfielder. The problem is he hasn't been producing from that position, either.

Honda isn't a part of the future. The team needs to move him. Fortunately, there is interest from the Premier League.

The Evening Standard reported in October that West Ham United were prepping a £5 million bid for his services in January. The Express reported there was similar interest from Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.

The EPL might be a good destination for Honda. He certainly isn't contributing to Mihajlovic's side. A fresh start would be better for both him and the club.

Antonio Nocerino

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In 2011-12, Antonio Nocerino had a season for the ages. A journeyman midfielder, he suddenly scored 10 times, becoming a key part of Milan's last really good team.

Two years later he was a fringe player, loaned to West Ham, Parma, and Torino over the following campaigns. This year, he's only played in two competitive matches—as a late substitute against Fiorentina and the next game against Empoli in a surprising start.

He's buried on the depth chart at this point. Unless an injury crisis becomes critical, he's not going to play competitive games. Whether he is sold for pennies or just plain released, the man who once wore the No. 8 shirt is simply taking up space.

Suso

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Young Spaniard Suso arrived in Milan last January from Liverpool. A natural attacking midfielder, Filippo Inzaghi shoehorned him into the team on the right wing of his 4-3-3, and after a wait of about two months, he made his first appearances and impressed. For several weeks, he provided some big moments, particularly in the 0-0 Derby della Madonnina in April, which also happened to be his first start.

But after a few more games, Suso sat again. After coming on as a second-half substitute against Sassuolo three games later, he received a straight red late on and missed the last two matches of the season.

This is another log-jam scenario. Alessio Cerci, despite his inconsistency, has the right wing locked down, and if Mihajlovic reverts to a 4-3-1-2 system, Giacomo Bonaventura is going to play as a trequartista. Suso hasn't impressed when he has got on the field, and some consistent playing time might be what he needs to get better.

No media outlets are linking him to a move away, but it would be beneficial for his development to do so. Leaving him to rot on the bench won't benefit anyone.