Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori has joined AC Milan on a permanent transfer after spending the previous season on loan with the Serie A club, the Blues have confirmed.
Tomori had a solid loan spell with Milan as a result of which the Italian side were keen to hold onto him on a permanent basis. Now, after some negotiation, Milan have finally gotten their hands on him.
The official statement from Chelsea read: “Fikayo Tomori will complete a permanent transfer from Chelsea to AC Milan on 1 July.
“The defender spent the second half of last season on loan with Milan, but will make that move permanent next month after a deal was agreed between the two clubs.
“Chelsea is grateful to Fikayo for his contributions at the club, from youth level to men’s first-team squad, and wishes him the very best in his future career.”
Fikayo Tomori had played 15 Premier League games during the 2019-20 season and everyone was sure the defender was going to play an important role in the first XI the next season.
But, to everyone’s surprise, he fell down the pecking order during the first half of the 2020-21 campaign and was eventually sent out to loan to AC Milan at the start of this year.
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At AC Milan, he showed his true talent playing in 17 league matches and some pundits had claimed that Thomas Tuchel should hold onto him rather than spending money on a new defender.
Fikayo Tomori has shown that he has the potential to play at the top level which is why some people wanted Tuchel to give him a second chance at Chelsea instead of sending him out.
Yes, the 23-year-old has done really well at Milan but the Chelsea manager has ample central defenders at his disposal so he can afford to cash in on the England international.
The likes of Rudiger and Christensen have cemented their place in the first XI at Chelsea so if Fikayo Tomori had stayed at the club for one more season then all he would have done was warm the benches.
As per The Athletic, Milan have paid £25 million to make the loan deal permanent and they will also be paying £5 million in potential add-ons.
