Lorenzo Ossola has caught Ruben Amorim's eye in preseason, and the young attacking midfielder is now in contention to stay with the senior squad, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.
The interesting part here isn't just that an academy kid is training well, it's the shape of the role Amorim is imagining for him. This is a coach installing a specific system, and he's looking at whether Ossola can fill a very particular slot in it rather than simply rewarding a good camp.
Born in Varese in 2007 and brought up in the Rossoneri academy, Ossola was one of the 26 names taken to the training camp, and the feedback from Amorim and his staff has been strong enough that they've told him they're open to keeping him around the first team. On Saturday he started for the senior side against Milan Futuro and scored in the 7-0 win, which does his case no harm at all.
The profile Amorim is describing is a familiar one. Di Marzio likens it to the role Francisco Trincao played under him at Sporting CP: a left-footer given licence to drift across the attacking midfield zone, cut inside onto his stronger foot, and link with the striker. Amorim knows exactly what he wants from that position, and he's weighing whether Ossola is the one to grow into it.
For context on the level, Ossola managed three goals and three assists in 21 games for Massimo Oddo's Milan Futuro last season in Serie C. Decent contribution numbers for a teenager finding his feet in senior football, though hardly the output that forces a promotion on its own. That's likely why the alternative on the table is a loan to Serie B, where Di Marzio says several clubs have already asked about him.
The choice is between staying to compete for minutes in Amorim's system or leaving to play regularly a division higher, and it's set to be resolved in the coming weeks, possibly during the upcoming tour where Ossola will keep pressing his case.