Fikayo Tomori’s Chelsea journey has officially come to an end

Thursday afternoon brought with it some disappointing news for Chelsea fans. The announcement that Fikayo Tomori has officially departed the Blues to join AC Milan on four-year contract was made official by both clubs, a sad notification for those supporters who saw the centerback as someone who would work perfectly in Thomas Tuchel’s back three. Chelsea received €25 million (plus €5 million in add ons) from the Italian club for the services of the young Englishman.

This has been widely reported for several months, as Milan planned to activate the buy option that was placed in the loan agreement in January. Tomori will officially become a permanent part of the Rossoneri on July 1. This news has brought mixed emotions amongst the Chelsea faithful with several people feeling sad that he has left without his career ever taking off with his boyhood club. Now, it’s time to reflect upon the journey he had at the club, which started when he was just eight and concluded with the defender making his first team debut.

Before jumping into Tomori’s journey, I must confess that, as a Canadian, I have a bit of a soft spot for Tomori. For those who don’t know, he was born in Calgary and could still theoretically represent the Canadian National Team (I write with my fingers crossed). Although his life journey was short-lived in Canada—he moved to England when he was very young—he still inspires up and coming Canadian footballers and shows them they can make it if they put the hard work in.

His journey began at Chelsea when he joined the under 8s in 2005 and progressed through the academy level. Tomori was an important piece of the teams that won the UEFA Youth League in 2015 and 2016. Shortly after the 2016 Youth League final, he made his first team debut against Leicester City as substitute in 80′ and after that, signed a new deal with the club. Several loans followed with him playing in the Championship for the next three seasons for Brighton, Hull City and Derby County respectively.

The key that lead to his first team breakthrough was Frank Lampard’s appointment in 2019, right after both he and Mount lost the Championship final while being managed by the aforementioned Blues legend. Lampard brought through several players in Academy which for some today were a integral part in this past season success.

Tomori played a significant role in his first full season with the first team, playing 15 matches in the Premier League and four in the Champions League. He announced himself to fans when scored a beautiful goal from distance in a 5-2 win against Wolves in September of 2019. From there, everyone thought he would be the centerback of of the future at the club, similar to John Terry. Sadly, that prospect was thrown in doubt with him being isolated from the squad during the second half of the season and onward, making just one appearance as sub in 2020/21 and then being loaned out to Milan.

Lampard left the club shortly after Tomori’s departure to Italy. The youngster took his opportunity and impressed so much that he left Milan with no option other than to buy him. Tomori’s story in SW6 has now come to end, but many hope it will be revisited in the future.

Where does this leave the Blues when it pertains to transfers for the upcoming season? Will a centerback be purchased or will the likes Malang Sarr or Marc Guehi be given a chance in preseason to work there way into the first team? All these questions and more will be answered in due time, but for now, let’s send our farewell to a true blue and wish him well for the future.

What are your thoughts on Fikayo Tomori leaving the club? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!