Fikayo Tomori of Chelsea passes the ball during the FA Cup Third Round match between Chelsea and Morecambe at Stamford Bridge on January 10, 2021 in London, England.
Chelsea have confirmed the departure of centre-back Fikayo Tomori to AC Milan on loan until the end of the season.
Milan wanted a new centre-back this summer and had initially identified Strasbourg's Mohamed Simakan as their preferred target, but eventually set their sights on Tomori, who was eager to make the move.
The two clubs began talks midway through January and things progressed fairly quickly, and now Chelsea have confirmed on their official website that they have sent Tomori over to San Siro for the remainder of the season.
As part of the agreement, Milan are understood to have the option to sign the 23-year-old permanently next summer for a fee of around £25m.
Good luck in Italy, @FikayoTomori_! 👊🇮🇹
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 22, 2021
Tomori is now expected to compete for minutes with Alessio Romagnoli and Simon Kjaer, who have formed a dominant duo since the latter's arrival from Sevilla in the summer.
Stefano Pioli's side currently sit top of the Serie A standings, three points clear of rivals Inter, and the hope is that Tomori will help strengthen their defence and keep them on track for their first league title since 2011.
Tomori will be eager to play football again. He managed just four appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season, finding himself firmly stuck behind Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard recently insisted that he still had a 'long-term plan' for the centre-back, but Tomori has seemingly been won over by Milan, where director Paolo Maldini admitted they were waiting to welcome him with open arms.
