Rúben Amorim's public admission that his squad is not entirely built for his 3-4-2-1 has prompted Gazzetta dello Sport to identify which players the Milan head coach had in mind, even if he stopped short of naming them himself.
Amorim went from calling the summer window a "ten out of ten" to conceding the fit is off, a sharp shift in tone that aligns with what has happened on the pitch. In his first five matches he used five different line-ups, rotating heavily to evaluate his options before settling on anything permanent. The 0-2 home defeat in the Europa League opener appears to have accelerated that process. "Is the squad unsuited to my 3-4-2-1? That's partly true, but you can't arrive at a new club and expect everything to be ready-made," Amorim said.
The comment carries extra weight given that the Portuguese was closely involved in the summer mercato, helping to select new arrivals and flagging players who could leave. The mismatch he now describes is partly one he helped construct.
According to Gazzetta, Fikayo Tomori sits at the top of the list. He was grouped with those marked for departure over the summer alongside Youssouf Fofana, Christopher Nkunku and others. When no further defensive reinforcements arrived, Tomori was reintegrated into the squad, but he has not played a single minute under Amorim. Strahinja Pavlović starts regularly yet does not profile as the ball-playing outside centre-back the coach wants, particularly in possession phases. Matteo Gabbia, fitness problems aside, is also yet to feature, which Gazzetta treats as a deliberate signal rather than coincidence.
The midfield presents its own problems. Amorim has always demanded intensity and running power alongside possession quality. Luka Modrić, at 41, can no longer guarantee that level of output consistently, while Ardon Jashari has slipped back into the inconsistency that marked his previous season after a bright opening.
Out wide, Davide Bartesaghi does not match the wing-back template Amorim has favoured throughout his career, where he has typically used either full-backs with attacking drive and grit or converted forwards, the way he deployed Amad Diallo at Manchester United or has used Samuel Chukwueze now. Then there are Alexis Saelemaekers and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, both tried in the attacking midfield role without convincing Amorim that either truly fits his vision for the position.
That is a long list of question marks for a coach who does not deal in half-measures, and reshaping the squad to match his preferences will depend on how much room Milan give him in the upcoming transfer windows.