Ruben Amorim has spent less than two months with the Milan squad, and he is already using five players in roles few expected them to fill inside his 3-4-2-1.
La Gazzetta dello Sport frames it as a clean break from the Massimiliano Allegri era, a system with firm principles that needs adaptable players to work. The early experiments have landed on five names who each offer more than one solution.
Samuel Chukwueze was the first surprise. Most assumed he would be used as an attacking midfielder, but Amorim went looking for creativity out wide and turned him into a wing-back. The obvious concern was whether he could hold up his end defensively as well as going forward, and so far the signs have been positive, with an assist in the opener against Torino easing the early doubts.
Diego Moreira has been handed an unexpected brief too. After the Torino match, Amorim said: "Moreira can play as a full-back on both the right and left flank, perhaps he'll play more on the right. At a big club, it's important to have two excellent players in each position." The former Strasbourg man was expected to own the left, so the nod towards the right raises the question of whether he ends up competing with Chukwueze for a spot on that side.
Yunus Musah's situation has turned around entirely. He was placed on the available list early, in part because Amorim's shape has no room for a mezzala, but the manager later told the club he wanted to keep him. Rather than using his pace as a right wing-back, Amorim deployed him in central midfield, where he performed well in Turin. He is unlikely to start there regularly, but he gives the coach a reliable alternative in the middle.
Adrien Rabiot is being reimagined as an attacking midfielder. One of the squad's standout performers last season, he is a different kind of creator to the ones Amorim has worked with, slower in the half-spaces but experienced enough to offer vision and end product. His half-hour against Torino made the case plainly: an assist, a goal and a heavy impact off the bench.
Alexis Saelemaekers completes the group, and his case mirrors Chukwueze's. Expected to anchor the right flank, he has instead appeared in the attacking midfield roles. He can play as an inverted left wing-back too, but Gazzetta note that pushing him into midfield risks blunting some of the qualities that make him most dangerous.
The list reads less like a fixed plan and more like a coach still deciding who does what, which means the Torino cameos are early evidence rather than settled answers. From here, the shape of Amorim's Milan depends on which of these experiments he trusts once the fixtures start stacking up.