Chelsea's Canadian-born English defender Fikayo Tomori reacts during the English League Cup third round football match between Chelsea and Barnsley at Stamford Bridge in London on September 23, 2020. (Photo by Alastair Grant / various sources / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by ALASTAIR GRANT/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Football.london, Fikayo Tomori may have to leave Chelsea if he is to continue his development. With the arrival of Thiago Silva in the summer, one of the central defender spots has been taken.
The other has also been occupied by Kurt Zouma on most occasions as Frank Lampard seems to have found his best defensive combination. One man who was making huge strides in the last few seasons, Fikayo Tomori, has been overlooked on one too many occasions.
Fikayo Tomori is a 22-year-old English centre-back who plays for Chelsea. He started his youth career at Chelsea’s academy in 2005 and progressed through the youth ranks. It wasn’t until 2016 that he got to make his debut for the first-team.
He was sent on loan in the following seasons to Brighton, Hull City and Derby County. However, it was at Derby County that he truly showed his potential under Frank Lampard, who was the Derby manager then.
With a transfer ban on Chelsea, Tomori along with a few others were given ample first-team opportunities. He enjoyed a good run of form but ultimately fizzled away in the second half of the season, thereby making just 26 appearances. This season he has found chances hard to come by in the presence of so many central defenders.
A lot was expected of Tomori when he was back at Chelsea under Frank Lampard. The pair had previously worked together at Derby County and it worked out well. Nonetheless, things haven’t been quite great this season for the young defender.
Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma are now the first-choice centre-backs at the club and rightfully so. In them, Chelsea have a new-found solidity at the back and are leaking fewer goals. Now that leaves Rudiger and Christensen as the backups and Tomori in a spot.
He has played just 44 minutes of Premier League football this season and was just given a run in the EFL Cup games. At 22, he needs way more than that amount of game time to continue his development.
It is clear that he cannot get that at Chelsea and should be allowed to have another loan spell away from the club. Tomori would still stay on their books but he will benefit from the game time he gets at the other club. A win-win situation.
