Once the transfer market window ended, the teams that partake in Champions League and Europa League handed in their 25-man rosters for the continental competitions. With some planning and some accurate team building, you can usually avoid leaving out anybody. However, since it must include eight players that have been raised in the country and four homegrown ones, there are always some noteworthy exclusions. U-21 players that have been with the club for at least two seasons can be inserted in a separate list.
Juventus excluded Stephan Lichtsteiner and Marko Pjaca. It is the second time in a row for the Swiss right back, who ultimately paid the price for his lack of versatility. Kwadwo Asamoah, who can play both as left back and box-to-box midfielder, newcomer Benedikt Howedes and Mattia De Sciglio, who can cover both flanks, were picked over him. Massimiliano Allegri also elected to have more options in the midfield, therefore newcomer Rodrigo Bentancur made the list. As for Pjaca, he is recovering from an ACL tear and should return within a month, but he is the fifth option when it comes to offensive wingers.
Roma left out Emerson Palmieri: the impressive left back tore his ACL very late last season and he will not be able to recover until November. The second absentee is Leandro Castan, who has returned from a loan stint at Torino and unfortunately has not looked the same since his severe head injury in 2014. The management was looking to offload him and the transfer market is still open in some countries.
Napoli kept out Lorenzo Tonelli: the Italian centre-back has not been able to contribute much since joining Partenopei, both due to injuries and because their defence is pretty crowded. He is behind Raul Albiol, Kalidou Koulibaly, Vlad Chiriches and Nikola Maksimovic in the pecking order and therefore expendable. Sampdoria and Chievo Verona tried to sign him in the summer but were unable to strike a deal.
Lazio excluded only the recently acquired youngsters Pedro Neto and Bruno Jordao, who will need time to establish themselves in a new league. Atalanta left out only Joao Schmidt, who has just joined from Sao Paulo and also suffered a meniscus tear, because he has at least four other central midfielders ahead of him in the hierarchy. Milan have a number of homegrown players in their roster, so were able to complete the list without any issue, even including players that had one foot out the door like Gabriel Paletta, José Sosa and Gustavo Gomez. Teams can make up to three changes after the winter transfer market window.
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