Fikayo Tomori set to join AC Milan with Chelsea defender ‘perfect’ target for Serie A club, says Paolo Maldini

AFP via Getty Images
Jack Rosser @JackRosser_18 January 2021

Fikayo Tomori will be a "perfect" fit at AC Milan, according to technical director and club legend Paolo Maldini.

The Chelsea defender is set to join the Serie A side on loan with a £26million option to buy after falling down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge this season.

Tomori started 15 Premier League games last season under Frank Lampard, but has featured just once in the league so far this season, coming on as a substitute during the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool back in September. The England international has been named in a Premier League squad just once since late October.

The 23-year-old, who snubbed the offer to join West Ham on loan late in the last window, has been of interest to Milan since the summer and will be confirmed in the coming days, Maldini has said.

"We wanted Fikayo Tomori also last summer," Maldini told Sky Italia. "He's always been one of our targets. He's perfect for our squad - we're working on the last details."

While the option to buy leaves the door open for a Chelsea exit, Lampard - who worked with the defender at Derby County - insists he has a future in West London.

“He absolutely has a long-term future at this club and we will see if and when he goes out on loan.

“The moment I got close with Fikayo is when I took him on loan to Derby and he was the player of the year and one of the best players in the Championship that year.  

“He came back last year, played 20 plus games for us at a young age and then got in the England squad.  

“There is a long-term plan for Fikayo in my head about his career here. And if he goes out on loan it will be to enhance his personal development, hopefully, help the team he goes to, and come back as a better player.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in