1049 Fikayo Tomori

Biography

Oluwafikayomi Oluwadamilola Tomori, known as Fikayo, signed on loan for City on the August 2017 deadline day to add depth to the defensive resources available to Leonid Slutsky.  He was a regular for the affable Russian but was used less by his replacement Nigel Adkins.  While his season with the Tigers never quite took off, at times he appeared to be the most consistent and least error prone of the three Chelsea loanees in the 2017/18 squad.

Born in Canada, Tomori’s family moved to England at a young age and he entered the Chelsea academy system at the age of 8.  Fikayo made his Chelsea first team debut in May 2016 and spent the second half of the following 2016/17 season on loan at Brighton.

In August 2018 Tomori joined Derby County on loan, reunited with another former City loanee Harry Wilson in Frank Lampard’s youthquake project. The following season both Lampard and Tomori we’re back at Chelsea as manager and defender respectively, and Fikayo quickly established himself in the Blues’ first team.  Within a few months he was a lynchpin of Chelsea’s defensive line and was selected to play for England.  Made in Hull!  In January 2020 he returned to the KCOM when Chelsea played City in the FA Cup, and scored a backpost header.  He eschewed contemporary fashion and celebrated wildly with the Chelsea fans, despite notching against a former club.  In the 2020/21 season Tomori was a peripheral figure again at Chelsea and in January 2021 he followed a path less trodden by ex-Tigers, joining AC Milan on loan. 

He made his debut for Milan in January 2021 against Bologna and made the loan move permanent in June 2021 with Chelsea receiving a steepling £24 million for a player that had made just 27 senior appearances for the Blues in six years as a professional. He established himself as a Serie A player and was a key component in the Milan side that lifted the Italian league title in the 2021/22 season and reached the Champions League semi-final in the 2022/23 season. He remained an important part of the Milan first team for several seasons, by May 2025 he had scored seven goals for the Rossoneri in 177 appearances.

Tomori played at under-19 level for both Canada and England, but latterly played for England at under-20 and under-21 levels.  He was also eligible to play for Nigeria through his parents. However in October 2019 he was called up to the England senior squad and committed his international future to the Three Lions. He made his England senior debut in November 2019 against Kosovo and added further caps in October 2021 against Andorra and June 2022 against Italy. After another spell outside the international squad he returned to England boss Gareth Southgate’s squad in September 2023, winning two more caps in October 2023 against Australia and November 2023 against Malta, taking his tally to 5 caps. In March 2026 he was recalled to the England squad for the first time in three years ahead of the 2026 World Cup finals.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 19 December 1997, Calgary (Canada)
Hull City First Game: 13 September 2017, Fulham A (Championship), 19 years, 268 days old
Hull City Final Game: 6 May 2018, Brentford A (Championship), 20 years, 138 days

Clubs

Chelsea (2013-2021), Brighton & Hove Albion (2016-2017, loan), Hull City (2017-2018, loan), Derby County (2018-2019, loan), AC Milan (2021, loan), AC Milan (2021-current)

Hull City Record

Career: 26 apps, 0 goals