According to the Daily Telegraph, Newcastle United are keen on bringing Chelsea centre-back Fikayo Tomori to St. James’ Park on loan in January.
The one-cap England international has played just 45 minutes of Premier League football for the Blues in 2020-21, with his other two appearances coming in the League Cup games against Barnsley and Tottenham Hotspur.
He is finding it difficult to make manager Frank Lampard’s matchday squads in recent weeks, and Tomori will miss out on the Three Lions’ squad for next summer’s European Championships if he doesn’t get playing minutes to impress in the coming months.
Newcastle are offering him the chance to prove himself all over again to Gareth Southgate during the second half of the season, though.
The 22-year-old was close to joining Everton and then West Ham United during the summer transfer window after the arrival of Thiago Silva meant he was not going to get regular starting opportunities this season.
However, both moves fell through, and that has proven costly to his development.
Tomori had established himself in Lampard’s plans during the first half of 2019-20 before injury struck, and he has found it hard to force his way back into the team.
Magpies boss Steve Bruce wants to strengthen his backline in January and is a fan of the potential and abilities of the Chelsea academy graduate.
Newcastle aren’t the only team keen on Tomori as he is attracting clubs outside of England, and it will be interesting to see if they can pip stiff competition to his signature.
The centre-back played 15 Premier League games last term and appeared four times in the Champions League, and he has what it takes to force his way into Bruce’s plans at SJP and will fancy his chances given his quality.
Whether he will be keen to move to Newcastle remains unknown, though, after he rejected the chance to join West Ham as he wasn’t guaranteed regular playing time, but he isn’t expected to remain at Stamford Bridge at the end of the January transfer window.
