Chelsea F.C. have come to an agreement with AC Milan to loan out Fikayo Tomori with the option to buy him after the loan period.
Tomori is a 23-year-old English defender who joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight. During his time with Chelsea’s senior team, he has been loaned out to Brighton & Hove Albion, Hull City, and Derby County.
Tomori makes this loan move to Milan due to the lack of playing time having played only four matches this season. One of those matches was in the Premier League, in which he came off the bench against Liverpool back in September.
Tomori will join Milan on a six-month loan deal until the end of the 2020/2021 season. At the end of the loan, Milan will have the option to buy him for £25 million, which suggests Chelsea are open to selling the player instead of wanting him to get match time before he returns to Stamford Bridge to compete for a starting berth.
He will arrive in Italy on Friday afternoon. This will be to finalize his move and undergo the medical tests before his loan deal is confirmed.
There is a possibility that he could play for Milan against Atalanta on Saturday in the Serie A.
SL View – Good deal for both teams?
Chelsea could have made a big mistake by giving Milan the option to buy Tomori after the loan period.
Tomori is a great talent and definitely has an exciting future ahead of him. With the correct development, he has the potential to become a world-class defender.
It is true that he has Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger ahead of him, but given Silva’s age and Tomori’s potential talent, it’s not unreasonable to think that Tomori could be an important member of the starting XI in the next two years.
If he plays well for Milan during his loan period, Milan will definitely buy him for £25m. This could be bad news for Chelsea, as they could be losing an incredible talent.
Also, Chelsea have been struggling with their defence lately. In their 2-0 loss to Leicester City, Chelsea’s defenders made a crucial mistake which led to James Maddison scoring Leicester’s second goal of the match.
With Chelsea’s recent struggles, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard could have looked to make some changes. This could have possibly given Tomori some playing time.
On the other hand, this is a great deal for Milan. They have wanted Tomori for a long time, first expressing interest in him last summer.
In an interview with Sky Sports Italia, Milan director Paolo Maldini said, “He’s always been one of our targets. He’s perfect for our squad – we’re working on the last details.”
Tomori will join a talented and young group of defenders at Milan, including Theo Hernández, Diogo Dalot, and Pierre Kalulu.
If they choose to buy Tomori at the end of his loan, Milan will definitely have a strong defence for the future.
