AC Milan want to make Fikayo Tomori’s move permanent after first Serie A goal against Juventus as Stefano Pioli suggests club are willing to meet Chelsea’s £25m asking price
- Fikayo Tomori has shone since joining AC Milan on loan from Chelsea in January
- Stefano Pioli has said he wants to sign Tomori permanently in the summer
- Pioli’s words were echoed by Milan’s honorary vice-president Franco Baresi
- The defender headed in Hakan Calhanoglu’s free kick for his first goal at the club
- Milan are now third, three points ahead of Juventus in fifth with three games left
AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli has confirmed that the Italian giants are interested in signing Chelsea centre back Fikayo Tomori on a permanent basis.
The 23-year-old scored his first goal in a 3-0 win at Juventus, heading in from Hakan Calhanoglu’s free kick as Pioli’s men leapfrogged last season’s Serie A winners and moved third with three games left to put them within touching distance of next season’s Champions League.
Tomori has impressed since arriving on loan from Stamford Bridge in January, making 19 appearances in all competitions, including both legs of the Europa League round-of-16 tie against Manchester United.
Fikayo Tomori scored his first AC Milan goal on Sunday in the crucial 3-0 win over Juventus
The 23-year-old headed Hakan Calhanoglu’s free kick past Wojciech Szczesny to seal the win
Tomori was part of a back four that successfully shackled Juventus’ talisman Cristiano Ronaldo
Stefano Pioli has come out and said that he would be keen to sign Tomori on a permanent basis
Tomori has an option in his current deal to sign permanently at the San Siro for £25million and Pioli is keen to take up the offer.
He said: ‘We want to buy Tomori on a permanent deal from Chelsea. Our intention is clear and also Fikayo’s decision (staying at Milan). We’ll see what happens at the end of the season.’
Pioli’s sentiments were echoed by Milan’s honorary vice-president and legendary centre back Franco Baresi in March.
‘We will do everything possible to sign him on a permanent deal,’ he said. ‘Tomori is imposing himself with talent and determination.
‘He has shown no fear playing in a new league. He can potentially become a great champion. I hope he lives up to expectations.’
Reflecting on his up-and-down time in west London under former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, Tomori said shortly after his move to Italy: ‘I will always be grateful for the opportunities he (Lampard) gave me.
‘Maybe because of our history he thought I would accept it (being frozen out), but from my perspective, with that history, it felt more personal and harder to understand.
Rossoneri centre-back legend Franco Baresi has echoed Pioli’s comments about Tomori
Tomori was a regular under Frank Lampard at Derby and the pair were reunited at Chelsea
But the youngster fell out of favour with his former boss in west London and doesn’t know why
‘I don’t know what happened, it wasn’t really explained to me. I was suddenly out of the squad and I don’t really know why.
‘I was trying to do extra and push myself more but, at that time, nothing seemed to work and nothing was explained to me.’
Tomori was a regular under Lampard at Derby but after reuniting at Stamford Bridge, he went from starting 18 games in the 2019-20 before the turn of the year to just five matches in the whole of last year before his move abroad.
