Fikayo Tomori

Oluwafikayomi Oluwadamilola "Fikayo" Tomori (born 19 December 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club AC Milan and the England national team. Born in Canada, he represents England at international level.

Fikayo Tomori
Tomori playing for AC Milan in 2022
Personal information
Full name Oluwafikayomi Oluwadamilola Tomori[1]
Date of birth (1997-12-19) 19 December 1997[2]
Place of birth Calgary, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 AC Milan
Number 23
Youth career
Riverview United
2005–2016 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2021 Chelsea 17 (1)
2017 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 9 (0)
2017–2018 → Hull City (loan) 25 (0)
2018–2019 → Derby County (loan) 44 (1)
2021 → AC Milan (loan) 17 (1)
2021– AC Milan 60 (1)
International career‡
2016 Canada U20 3 (0)
2016 England U19 5 (0)
2016–2017 England U20 15 (0)
2017–2019 England U21 15 (0)
2019– England 3 (0)
Honours
Men's Football
Representing  England
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Winner2017
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:40, 6 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:28, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

Early life

Tomori was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to Nigerian parents. Before the age of one, Tomori moved with his family to England where he was raised.[3][4] He began playing for Riverview United in Kent when he was six.[4] Growing up, his footballing idol was Thierry Henry.[5]

Club career

Youth career

Tomori joined the Chelsea Academy at under-eight level and progressed through the club's academy system.[6] He was part of the Chelsea youth side which recorded back to back triumphs in both the UEFA Youth League and the FA Youth Cup in 2015 and 2016.[6]

On 11 May 2016, Tomori was named to the first-team substitute bench along with fellow academy players Tammy Abraham and Kasey Palmer, in Chelsea's 1–1 draw with Liverpool. However, he failed to make an appearance at Anfield.[7] On 15 May, in Chelsea's final game of the 2015–16 season, Tomori made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Premier League champions Leicester City, replacing Branislav Ivanović in the 60th minute.[8] Although Tomori was included in the United States pre-season tour, he did not make a single appearance.[9] On 1 August, Tomori signed a new four-year contract ahead of the 2016–17 season.[10]

2017–2019: Loans to Championship clubs

On 23 January 2017, Tomori joined Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion on loan for the remainder of the 2016–17 season.[11] Five days later, Tomori made his Brighton debut in a 3–1 away defeat against National League team Lincoln City in the FA Cup fourth round, in which he scored an own goal to give Lincoln the lead.[12] On 18 February 2017, Tomori made his league debut for Brighton, in their 2–0 away victory against Barnsley, replacing Anthony Knockaert in stoppage time of the second half.[13] On 18 March 2017, Tomori was given his first start for Brighton in their 2–0 away defeat against Leeds United, featuring for the entire 90 minutes.[14]

On 31 August 2017, Tomori joined Championship club Hull City on a season long loan deal.[15] He made his debut on 13 September 2017, in a 2–1 defeat away to Fulham.[16]

On 6 August 2018, Tomori joined Championship club Derby County on a season long loan.[17] He made his debut on 11 August in a 4–1 loss against Leeds United.[18][19] His time at the club saw him named the club's "Player of the Year".[20]

2019–20 season: First-team breakthrough
Tomori playing for Chelsea in 2019

On 31 August 2019, Tomori made his first start for Chelsea against Sheffield United, which ended a 2–2 draw at Stamford Bridge.[21] He scored his first goal for Chelsea on 14 September, opening the scoring with long-range curling shot from outside the penalty area, in a 5–2 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.[22] He scored a header against former club Hull City to help Chelsea to a 2–1 win in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the KCOM Stadium on 25 January 2020.[23]

AC Milan

On 22 January 2021, Tomori joined Serie A club AC Milan on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season with an option to buy.[24] Four days later, he made his debut in the Coppa Italia quarter-final against Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, coming on as a substitute for the injured Simon Kjær in a 2–1 away defeat.[25] On 9 May, Tomori scored his first goal for Milan in a 3–0 away league win over rivals Juventus.[26] Tomori became the first Englishman to score for Milan since David Beckham in 2009 and it was the club's first away win against Juventus in the league since March 2011.[27]

On 17 June 2021, Tomori signed a permanent deal with Milan until 30 June 2025, after the club exercised their £25m buy option from his previous loan.[28] He scored his first goal of the season on 7 December, against Liverpool in a Champions League match which Milan lost 2–1.[29] With his teammate Simon Kjær out of action for the remainder of the season due to injury, Tomori became a regular in the starting line-up. On 12 March 2022, as Milan won 1–0 against Empoli, they managed to secure two clean sheets in a row for the first time in 2022, courtesy of Tomori partnering in defence with Pierre Kalulu.[30]

On 12 August 2022, Tomori signed a new contract with Milan until June 2027.[31] On 8 March 2023, he was named man of the match in the Champions League round of 16 second leg away match against Tottenham Hotspur, which ended in a 0–0 draw and qualification to the quarter-final for the first time in eleven years for Milan, by winning 1–0 on aggregate.[32]

International career

Tomori was eligible to represent Nigeria at international level through his parents,[33] Canada through his birth in Calgary, and England through having lived in the country since he was a child.[34]

Canada

On 27 March 2016, Tomori captained Canada U20 to a 2–1 victory over England U20 on his third appearance for the nation.[35][36]

Youth

On 16 May 2016, in the next international break and a day after making his professional club debut, Tomori was called up to the England U19 squad.[35] On 4 June, Tomori made his England U19 debut in a 2–0 defeat against Mexico U20s, playing the full 90 minutes.[37] Tomori was also part of the England 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship squad which reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by Italy.

Tomori was selected for the England under-20 team in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Tomori however scored an own goal in England's second group game against Guinea.[38] Nevertheless, Tomori would help England beat Venezuela in the final 1–0, which was England's first win in a global tournament since their World Cup victory of 1966.[39]

On 27 May 2019, Tomori was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[40]

Senior

On 3 October 2019, Tomori received his first call-up to the England senior squad for forthcoming Euro 2020 qualifying matches.[41] He later said he was committed to playing for England, following interest from Nigeria and Canada; he had previously represented Canada at youth level.[42] Tomori made his debut for England on 17 November against Kosovo in a Euro 2020 qualifier.[43]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 16 May 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chelsea 2015–16[44] Premier League 100000000010
2019–20[45] Premier League 15121004[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0222
2020–21[46] Premier League 10102000—40
Total 17131204010272
Chelsea U23 2016–17[47] ————2[lower-alpha 5]020
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 2016–17[47] Championship 9010———100
Hull City (loan) 2017–18[48] Championship 25010———260
Derby County (loan) 2018–19[49] Championship 4414041—3[lower-alpha 6]0552
AC Milan (loan) 2020–21[50] Serie A 17110—4[lower-alpha 7]0—221
AC Milan 2021–22[51] Serie A 31040—5[lower-alpha 3]1—401
2022–23[52] Serie A 29110—10[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 8]0411
Total 7726000191101033
Career total 172415161231702237
  1. Includes FA Cup, Coppa Italia
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  5. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  6. Appearances in Championship play-offs
  7. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  8. Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

International
As of match played 11 June 2022[53]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
England 201910
202110
202210
Total30

Honours

Chelsea Youth

Chelsea

AC Milan

England U20

England U21

Individual

See also

References
  1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017: List of Players: England" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2017. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2019.
  2. "Fikayo Tomori: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  3. "Calgary-born Fikayo Tomori gets call from England national soccer team". CBC Sports. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  4. "Fikayo Tomori Canada Profile". Canadian Soccer Association.
  5. "Fikayo Tomori: First, Last and Always". Chelsea F.C. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  6. "Fikayo Tomori". TheChels.info.
  7. "Liverpool 1–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 11 May 2016.
  8. "Chelsea 1–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. 15 May 2016.
  9. "Summary: International Champions Cup". Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  10. "Tomori new deal on tour". Chelsea F.C. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  11. "Albion sign Chelsea defender on loan". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  12. "Lincoln City 3–1 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  13. "Barnsley 0–2 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  14. "Leeds United 2–0 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  15. "Hull City sign Chelsea defender on loan". Sky Sports. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  16. "Fulham 2–1 Hull City". BBC Sport. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  17. "Fikayo Tomori: Chelsea defender joins Derby County on loan". BBC Sport. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
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  19. "Derby 1–4 Leeds – Bielsa's side thrash Rams with brilliant attacking display". BBC Sport. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
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  22. "Wolves 2–5 Chelsea". Sky Sports. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  23. "MATCH REPORT: HULL 1 CHELSEA 2". Chelsea F.C. 26 January 2020.
  24. "Official Statement: Fikayo Tomori". AC Milan. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
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  40. "ENGLAND U21S SQUAD NAMED BY AIDY BOOTHROYD FOR THIS SUMMER'S EURO FINALS IN ITALY". The Football Association. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
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