Milan's wing-back positions are still unresolved with the season approaching, and in Ruben Amorim's setup that is a problem rather than a detail. La Gazzetta dello Sport report that the flanks are one of the areas where the coach found himself short on arrival.
In the 3-4-2-1, the wing-backs carry both the attacking width and the defensive balance, so getting them right decides how the whole shape functions. The difficulty is that Amorim inherited a squad built for a different system, and the players available to him on the wings each come with a question attached.
On the right, the assumption at the end of last season was that Alexis Saelemaekers would keep the spot. The Belgian is a two-way player with the technical level and work rate Amorim wants, so he fits the profile naturally.
That picture shifted with Samuel Chukwueze's return to contention, not as a playmaker but as a wing-back. Under Allegri's 3-5-2 he would have had little room, but the new system gives him a genuine route to a starting role on the right.
The audition is still running, and to pass it Chukwueze has to show he can handle the defensive side of the job. In Amorim's aggressive approach, a wing-back who neglects that leaves gaps behind him that the whole line pays for.
So far the returns have been mixed. He threatened going forward against Celtic, then switched off defensively for the lapse that led to Inter's goal. The question Amorim needs answered is whether Chukwueze can offer that consistency in and out of possession across a full season.
If the answer is no, the market comes back into play, according to Gazzetta. On that front, the coach is clearly unconvinced by Zachary Athekame, who is heading out on loan to Lyon.
Amorim has said he would like Saelemaekers on the left as an inverted wing-back, which only works in two scenarios: Chukwueze convincing him by the end of August, or another arrival. If Chukwueze does not persuade him, the Belgian competes for an attacking midfield role instead. Yunus Musah, whose physicality suits the wing, remains an option on the right.
The left carries its own uncertainty. Pervis Estupiñán is on the market, while Davide Bartesaghi does not have the pace or the profile the coach is chasing for the role.
With mid-August already here and the pieces still not locked in, Milan's flanks are a work in progress, and how quickly Chukwueze answers the defensive question is what decides whether Amorim reaches for the market again.