Ruben Amorim's tenure as Milan manager began with a win at Torino, headlined not by the club's expensive summer signings but by 19-year-old academy prospect Alphadjo Cissè, who started and impressed on debut. The result highlighted a broader shift being watched across Serie A, where domestic clubs have faced criticism for overlooking young Italian talent since the national team's repeated failure to qualify for the men's World Cup, making Cissè's emergence, and that of several other teenagers given starts elsewhere in the league, a notable early-season talking point.

Cissè, born in Treviso to Guinean parents, joined Milan from Verona in February but only linked up with the squad this summer after a loan spell at Catanzaro, where he scored six goals in 22 games. He took Torino's first shot within 75 seconds of kick-off. Milan spent heavily in the transfer window, including a club-record €74m on Gonçalo Ramos, €50m on Diego Moreira and €30m on Mario Gila, as Amorim seeks to end a fifth-place finish under previous manager Massimiliano Allegri and target the Scudetto. Data from Football Benchmark shows Italian under-21 players received only 3.9% of league minutes last season versus 8.2% for foreign under-21s, underlining why teenage starters such as Cissè, plus others fielded by Torino, Udinese, Parma, Monza and Como, are being noticed.