The Sky Blues, newly promoted to the Premier League under Lampard, tried to bring the 29-year-old back to English football having worked with him during their time together at Chelsea. AC Milan's hierarchy rejected the approach, and Amorim personally intervened to stop any sale, according to Tuttosport.
Loftus-Cheek had appeared to be heading for the exit at San Siro, with his contract due to expire in ten months.
Instead, pre-season form has flipped his outlook entirely: Amorim has settled on a front three behind the striker in his 3-4-2-1 system, and the England international has emerged as a leading candidate for the number ten role.
That shift matters because it is the position in which Loftus-Cheek has historically produced his best numbers. He scored 10 goals in the 2018-19 season under Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea, a campaign that ended with Europa League glory for the Blues, and matched that form with 10 goals for Milan under Stefano Pioli as the club finished fifth in Serie A in 2023-24 (later promoted to fourth after Juventus were docked points).
Both spells saw him used centrally among three attacking players supporting a lone striker, the same role Amorim appears ready to hand him now.
Milan believe his physical power and driving runs from midfield suit the pressing, transition-based approach Amorim is building, and preliminary talks have already opened over extending a deal set to expire next summer. Any extension could run to 2029, with Tuttosport reporting the possibility of a deal stretching to 2030.
For Lampard, missing out on Loftus-Cheek leaves Coventry City still searching for reinforcements as they adjust to Premier League football following an 11-point title-winning Championship campaign that ended a 25-year absence from the top flight.
The 46-year-old has overseen a significant summer rebuild at the Coventry Building Society Arena and had viewed his former Chelsea midfielder as an experienced option capable of making an immediate Premier League impact.
Milan's stance leaves no such route open. Amorim's pre-season sessions have shown a coach building his attacking unit around Loftus-Cheek's ability to break from deep, and the club has no intention of revisiting Coventry's approach before the summer window closes.