Fikayo Tomori has opened up about his decision to leave boyhood club, Chelsea, for AC Milan earlier this year after struggling for playing time.
Speaking in a recent interview with Sky Sports, former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori has shed light on his transfer from the west London outfit to AC Milan.
Tomori, a product of the Chelsea youth academy, had to bide his time to break into the first-team. The 23-year-old had loan stints away at Brighton & Hove Albion, Hull City and Derby County before he got his chance in the senior team during the 2019/20 campaign. While he was a regular under Frank Lampard at the start of that season, his role slowly reduced.
Tomori had been pushed way down the pecking order at the onset of the last season, but he stayed put at the club until January, when he sealed a loan move to AC Milan. The switch worked wonders for the Englishman who quickly became a key member of Stefano Pioli’s side and helped them finish second in Serie A last season.
This prompted the Rossoneri to sign him up on a permanent deal earlier this summer. Since making the jump on a full-time basis, Tomori has thrived again at San Siro and was called up by Gareth Southgate for England’s upcoming fixtures in the ongoing international break.
Tomori is relishing the pressure of playing for AC Milan after a difficult spell with Chelsea ? pic.twitter.com/52TuOt5B7w
— Chelsea FC News (@Chelsea_FL) October 8, 2021
Opening up on life in Italy and his decision to leave Chelsea, Tomori said: “Since I have been at Milan, I haven’t really thought about it. It was a difficult time – every footballer wants to play, and every footballer wants to show themselves on the pitch. When you are not able to do that it is difficult – and being able to overcome and forget about that is part of the reason why it is now going so well.
“I didn’t really dwell on it and just moved on and put it as part of football, part of life. It feels good, to have been here and then out of it for a while, and then to be back, I am really happy. So I am really comfortable there, really settled and it’s led me to be here, so it’s all going really well,” he added.
Tomori departed Chelsea having made just 27 senior appearances in which he scored twice and set up one more. In his short time with AC Milan, the 23-year-old has featured 31 times across all competitions and looks to have settled in very well in Italy.
