When Fikayo Tomori walks back into Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, he will have a point to prove, and not just to his former club Chelsea.
The 24-year-old centre-back will take his seat in the away dressing room before AC Milan’s Champions League tie, fresh from winning the Scudetto [Serie A title] last season and following rave reviews from a club that has a rich history in the art of defending.
But seeing the England international’s improvement since he moved to Italy leads to two questions: why did Chelsea let the academy graduate go in the first place, meaning they had to pay £70m for former Leicester defender Wesley Fofana this summer? And why was Tomori left out of the England squad that faced Germany last month instead of the out-of-form Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire?
Former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, in charge when Tomori was dropped in 2020, and England boss Gareth Southgate are best placed to answer those dilemmas.
Yet Tomori, who left Chelsea for an initial loan spell at AC Milan in January 2021 before a £24m move the following summer, recognises he has an opportunity to show he has become a “cleverer” defender. Perhaps even a bit more “nasty” after training with team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“Every footballer, when you get on the pitch, there’s a point to prove,” Tomori said, speaking to the English media from Milan before Wednesday’s Group E match.
“Obviously coming from Chelsea and being English, there’s probably that added motivation. I guess you could say that maybe I’ve played differently [at AC Milan] or whatever it is.
“[The year] 2020 was difficult, not just for me, obviously there was Covid so it was difficult for everyone. I was just itching to get back on the pitch, itching to be playing, and Milan gave me an opportunity and now I’m here.
“It’s just another chance for me to see some familiar faces as well as to, I guess, show how I’ve developed. I know people have watched the Milan games but going back to Stamford Bridge where it all kind of started, it’s another chance to show myself again.” (BBC)