AC Milan's first team beat Milan Futuro 7-0 in a closed-door friendly at Milanello, and Ruben Amorim came away with a few things worth noting, as La Gazzetta dello Sport report.
This kind of fixture is easy to dismiss as glorified training, and in truth that's mostly what it was. Both squads live at Milanello, so it costs nothing to organise and doubles as a fitness workout in pre-season. But it's also one of the first proper looks at how Amorim wants this team to line up, and which fringe names are pushing to be part of it. That's where the real value sits.
The first half finished 2-0, with Andrej Kostic catching the eye. The young Montenegrin striker was signed on paper for Futuro, but he has impressed Amorim across the opening sessions and a run like this only strengthens the case for keeping him around the senior group. The other first-half scorer was Lorenzo Ossola, a 19-year-old attacking midfielder from the academy who spent last season between the Primavera and the second team.
Five more arrived after the break, once Sergio Navarro started rolling out players born in 2008 and 2009, which flatters the scoreline somewhat. Samuel Chukwueze, Strahinja Pavlović, Francesco Camarda, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Youssouf Fofana all got on the board.
Camarda's goal carries a little more weight than the rest given the decisions the club face over his future, and every time he scores in front of the staff it feeds into that. The other detail for Amorim watchers: Chukwueze lined up as a right wing-back in the 3-4-2-1, exactly as he has in recent sessions. It's an unusual home for a natural winger, but Amorim did the same with Amad Diallo at United, so this isn't a one-off experiment. It's a role he trusts attackers to fill.
Milan face Celtic at Celtic Park on Saturday before flying out for their tour of Australia and Indonesia.
A 7-0 against your own kids proves nothing about September, but Kostic forcing his way into the conversation and Chukwueze bedding into the wing-back role are the two threads worth following once the real games begin.