Remember: There's no such thing as "extra non-EU place" in Italy. You can have one new non-EU player signed from a non-italian league per season. Period.
It means that the squad may consist of 15 non-EU players, or none, as long as they get one non-EU player signed from a non-italian league per season. Gaining EU citizenship
before the transfer to an italian club is important. Gaining it while in an italian club is insignificant for the club's transfer politics.
In Spain, Primera clubs can have only three non-EU players registered at the same time. For them, gaining citizenship is very important, because every time a player in their squad gains a spanish citizenship, the club may bring in another non-EU player. South Americans in Spain gain their citizenship in two years. For players from other non-EU countries, the period is longer (I think 4 or 5 years, but I'm not 100% sure about that).
Are we clear now?
