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Fikayo Tomori: England’s promising prospect stands in Man United’s path

Having burst into the Chelsea first team and made his England debut in the space of a few months at the start of last season, it seemed Fikayo Tomori was destined for a big future in the Premier League. Since then, he’s become something of a forgotten man for the Blues, making just two league appearances since the start of 2020.

One of Frank Lampard’s final acts as Chelsea boss was to send Tomori out on loan to Italian giants AC Milan, where he has hit the ground running despite the Rossoneri’s blip in form.

Though Milan have endured a painful decade with little success, they remain one of the biggest clubs in the world and a standout draw in European competitions. It was no surprise then to see Manchester United v AC Milan described as the tie of the round, when the giants were drawn against each other in the Europa League round of 16.

Thursday’s first leg draw at Old Trafford was Tomori’s ninth appearance in just a month-and-a-half since moving to Italy, with the 23-year-old showing glimpses of his early Chelsea career form in a commanding display alongside Simon Kjaer.

United’s pacey attacking unit looked completely out of ideas, Tomori’s pace and power proving more than a match for the Red Devils attackers.

Milan have an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season for £26 million, a figure looking increasingly good in value. Tomori found himself behind the likes of Kurt Zouma, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen at Chelsea, while another promising youngster will return to Stamford Bridge from a loan this summer; England under-17 World Cup winner Marc Guehi – currently on loan at Swansea.

If selected for the second leg, Tomori will know that he has another big chance to impress English viewers and dump United out of Europe in the process. Consistency until the end of the season can do him no harm with regards to his chances of getting picked for the Euros, which remains within reach if not likely.

Sam Hanys

A miserable Ipswich Town fan.

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