Two league games into Ruben Amorim's Milan, and a picture of his hierarchies is already forming, with a few names higher up the order than expected and others already fighting to hold their place.
The 3-4-2-1 is the fixed point around which everything else moves, and every department carries its own competition. La Gazzetta dello Sport looked at who started, who sat, and what that tells us about where each role is heading.
At the back, the three starters are Mario Gila, Koni De Winter and Strahinja Pavlović. Gila is already the leader of the unit and, on paper, the one set for the best season of the group. Matteo Gabbia is the man pushing De Winter for the central berth, though his pace may be a problem for a side that leaves 40 metres behind its defensive line when it attacks. No reinforcements are expected before the window shuts, and at least one of Sankhoun Diawara or Valeri Vladimirov should see minutes.
On the flanks, Amorim is working with two profiles per side: Samuel Chukwueze and Diego Moreira as the creative option on the right, Davide Bartesaghi and Pervis Estupiñán as the balance-first choice on the left. Chukwueze leads the right for now, while the left is a 50-50 call. The question mark is whether Chukwueze can hold the position across a full season, because doing it against Venezia in August is not the same as facing Napoli, Como, Fiorentina and Roma in the depths of winter. Moreira is expected to feature more soon, and Alexis Saelemaekers, not currently Amorim's favourite in the role, can cover both sides.
Midfield is where the surprise sits. The summer read had Luka Modrić and Adrien Rabiot starting, with Ardon Jashari the regular rotation. Instead, Yunus Musah is the man Amorim wanted to keep and has used, playing every minute against Torino and Venezia. His work covering ground and winning the ball is why. Jashari has started well too, and Rabiot is ready to come back into the side, probably against Juventus. He can play as an attacking midfielder but will also fill one of the two central spots in certain matches, with Christian Comotto in line for minutes as well.
Up top, the No.9 is settled: Gonçalo Ramos, with Francesco Camarda the deputy when he needs rest or is unavailable. The two attacking midfield slots are the live question. Rabiot and Christian Pulisic are the current starters, though neither is fully fit and the American is yet to feature. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was inconsistent across the two games and is already at risk of losing his place against Juventus. Alphadjo Cisse has been a welcome surprise as an alternative, if not a certain starter.
There will be plenty to call on from the bench, including Omari Hutchinson, arriving on loan from Nottingham Forest. Attacking midfield is also where Saelemaekers should log most of his minutes, and both Moreira and Chukwueze can operate there.
Rabiot's return against Juventus is the first real test of these early hierarchies, and how Amorim reshuffles his midfield and attack for that game will tell us which of these reads hold.