Goncalo Ramos has linked up with his new Milan teammates in Perth, and Ruben Amorim already has a clear idea of what he wants from him beyond finishing, according to Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews).
The interesting part here is not that Milan signed a striker. It's the size of the outlay. A reported €75m plus bonuses is not the kind of fee Serie A clubs throw around, and it's certainly not something the Rossoneri do lightly given their spending discipline in recent windows. For that money, the expectation is not just a poacher who occupies the last line. Amorim wants a striker who works.
Ramos will be judged on goals first, that's the nature of the position, and his record says he can score them. Milan back that, and Amorim reportedly pushed hard internally to get the deal done. But the demand attached to the signing is closer to what Amorim built at Sporting: a centre-forward who presses from the front, holds the ball under pressure, and brings runners into play rather than waiting for service.
That fits the shape. In Amorim's 3-4-2-1 the striker is the point of the trident, but the two men behind him only function if the forward stretches defences and triggers the press. A static number nine kills that system. It's why the profile matters as much as the finishing, and why Ramos, quick and technically clean for his size, was the target rather than a pure box striker.
The question is whether the version of Ramos who struggled for minutes at PSG last season resurfaces as the one who tore through the Portuguese league at Benfica. Amorim is betting on the latter, and for €75m, Milan need him to be right.