Ruben Amorim has picked out Mike Maignan and Adrien Rabiot as the two players he wants to build his Milan around, and he has already reached out to both directly, according to Corriere della Sera.
The new coach's first job at Milan isn't tactics, it's stabilising a dressing room that has churned through managers and uncertainty for a season and a half. Amorim landing at a club where the two most influential figures were both linked with exits needed to settle that fast. Picking up the phone to your goalkeeper and your midfield metronome before anything else is how you do it.
For Amorim, Maignan is the natural captain. It's the personality as much as the shot-stopping, and there's a tactical fit too: Maignan is comfortable receiving under pressure and playing out from the back, which is non-negotiable in the possession structure Amorim wants. Rabiot gives him the other thing he values, a midfielder who offers physical presence and quality in both boxes.
The good news on Maignan is that his future looks settled. He signed a renewal a few months ago that runs to 2031, and while his entourage held exploratory talks with other clubs when Milan's boardroom situation was in disarray, he never pushed to leave. Amorim's arrival only strengthens the case for staying.
Rabiot's position has shifted too. Where an exit looked possible in recent weeks, Corriere della Sera report the Frenchman has now told the club he wants to stay.
Two French leaders, both wanting in, both handed a role by the new coach before pre-season has even taken shape. It's a calmer starting point than the one Amorim inherited, and for now that's exactly what Milan needed.