Ruben Amorim's Milan face Celtic this weekend in their first proper test of pre-season, and the picture emerging from Milanello is of a coach reshaping the club's habits from the training ground up, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport.
This matters because it's the first real look at what Amorim wants Milan to be after the Allegri era. A change of manager is a change of identity, and the details filtering out of camp, longer sessions, a 3-4-2-1 built to attack, young players being handed a genuine chance, tell you more about the coming season than any single result will.
Start with the football itself. Amorim's 3-4-2-1 leans forward rather than back, and Gazzetta describe a coach who would rather chase a second goal than sit on a lead. That is a clear break from the Allegri instinct to protect what you have. It carries more risk than a 3-5-2, but it's a statement of intent. His sessions run longer than his predecessor's, though only one a day, heavy on ball work, and the demand to win shows up even in training drills.
The most interesting names are the young ones. Christian Comotto and Francesco Camarda have both caught the eye, and while loans can't be ruled out, there's a growing case for keeping at least one of them in the building. Andrej Kostic has gone further, pushing to be considered the season's backup striker. Amorim likes his instinct in front of goal. The question is whether the rest of his game is ready for that role at this level.
Samuel Chukwueze and Alphadjo Cissé are both works in progress, for different reasons. Chukwueze's issue is in his head, not his feet, he still hasn't convinced anyone he can impose himself on Serie A, while Cissé is working his way back from injury. Both will get minutes over the next few weeks to make their case.
On the mercato, after a strong opening to the window Milan now want an attacking midfielder, with Konstantinos Karetsas named as the primary target. The catch is the usual one: something has to give the other way first. A squad this full doesn't add a No.10 without moving bodies out, so the arrival is tied to the exits.
Two friendlies are already in the books. The first was a 0-0 in front of the fans, the second a comfortable win over Milan Futuro with Kostic, Lorenzo Ossola, Chukwueze, Strahinja Pavlović, Camarda, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Youssouf Fofana all on the scoresheet.
Celtic will tell us far more than a run-out against the B team, even with key men missing. Until then, the story of this pre-season is a manager quietly rewriting how Milan work, and a couple of academy kids forcing their way into the conversation.