Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori has joined Serie A leaders AC Milan on loan until the end of the season, the London club website said.
The Academy graduate will continue his development at the San Siro having been with Chelsea since Under-8s level. He has made 27 appearances for the Blues so far, including four this season, most recently as a substitute in the FA Cup third round win over Morecambe earlier this month.
The Canadian-born defender, who made his international debut for England in November 2019, has previously spent time on loan with Brighton, Hull and Derby in the Championship before becoming a member of the senior squad at Stamford Bridge last season.
Tomori enjoyed great success with Chelsea at youth level, winning the FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League, as well as being named our Academy Player of the Year in 2016.
He had been given his introduction to senior football by Guus Hiddink at the end of that 2015/16 season, in a 1-1 home draw with newly-crowned champions Leicester City, before heading out on a trio of loan spells.
They started with helping Brighton earn promotion to the Premier League, and concluded with being named Derby’s Play of the Year after reaching the Championship play-offs under Frank Lampard’s management.
With Lampard becoming Chelsea head coach in the summer of 2019, Tomori returned to the Bridge as part of the men’s first team squad for last season, coming off the bench in the UEFA Super Cup before making his full debut in a 2-2 Premier League draw with Sheffield United.
That was the first of 10 consecutive league starts for the young centre-back, which included his stunning maiden goal for the Blues in a 5-2 victory away at Wolverhampton Wanderers. The strike was later voted as our Goal of the Season by supporters, while the potential he showed in those performances was rewarded with a new five-year contract in December 2019.
His opportunities have become more limited this season, and he will now spend the remainder of the current campaign on loan in Italy with the side who are currently top of Serie A under the management of Stefano Pioli. They also have a Europa League round of 32 tie against Red Star Belgrade to look forward to next month.
