Ruben Amorim has laid out the thinking behind his selection to face Venezia and touched on the prospect of Rafael Leão leaving, speaking to DAZN shortly before his home debut on the Milan bench.
The visit of newly-promoted Venezia is Amorim's first night at San Siro in charge, and it comes with the job of building on the win over Torino while ironing out the problems that surfaced when the team tired late in that game.
Amorim did not hide what the occasion meant to him. "It's a special day. As a coach, I'm focused on the match. We have to win. I expect a tough match. The team is nervous, they want to do well, and for it to be a positive day, we have to win."
Asked whether he picked Davide Bartesaghi and Luka Modrić to take command of the game, he pointed to what each brings on the night. "Modric has the experience to instil calmness in us, but the experience he brings is very important. He played 30 quality minutes against Torino. Bartesaghi is for one-on-one situations, and he has the physicality to do it."
He then widened the point to the group as a whole. "The most important thing is the quality of the entire team. We have to run after the ball, be humble, and understand that we can't press for the entire match."
On the imminent sale of Leão, Amorim avoided the specifics of whether the call was a joint one and answered in general terms about commitment. "I believe that if you're in this team, you always have to give 100%. If the team grows, so does the individual. To achieve results, the group is important. And therefore, individuality is also valued."
Amorim gave no detail on the state of any Leão negotiations, on a fee, or on where the winger might be heading, so how far down the road that exit is remains unanswered from his words alone.
For now, the selection tells the story more clearly than the transfer talk does: Modrić trusted to steady the game, Bartesaghi handed the physical duels, and a manager who wants the answers to come from the team before the market has its say.