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 centre back and right back for the affable Russian in the opening months of the season, as many goals were both scored and conceded. When Slutsky’s more pragmatic replacement Nigel Adkins took the helm at the end of 2017 Fikayo was gradually withdrawn to a choice off the bench rather than a first team starter.  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 Tigers’ 2017/18 squad.

Oluwafikayomi Oluwadamilola Tomori, mercifully shortened to Fikayo, was born in Calgary, Canada to parents of Nigerian descent. Before his first birthday his family had moved to Gravesham in Kent, where the young Fikayo attended Gravesend Grammar School. Identified as a footballing talent from a young age, Tomori was associated with Chelsea’s academy system from the aged of eight and progressed through the year groups to be chosen as unused substitute for a Blues’ Under-19 UEFA Youth League tie against Steaua Bucharest in December 2013, a week before his sixteenth birthday.

In the 2014/15 season Fikayo played for both the Under-18 and Under-21 squads, though the highlight was playing in the last four rounds as Chelsea reached and won the FA Youth Cup, defeating Manchester City in the April 2015 final over two legs – at seventeen years of age, Tomori had claimed his first winners’ medal. The following season he progressed further, scoring in the April 2016 finals of both the UEFA Youth League (defeating Paris Saint Germain) and a second successive FA Youth Cup victory against Manchester City. Buoyed by the two further trophies, Fikayo was handed his senior debut for Chelsea in May 2016 when he played the last half hour of a Premier League match against title winners Leicester City. He started the 2016/17 season with two EFL Trophy starts for Chelsea, then in January 2017 he joined Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on a half season loan. Used mostly as a bench option, Tomori made 10 appearances for the Seagulls. The following season was spent on loan at Hull City.

In August 2018 Tomori joined Championship side Derby County on a season long loan, reuniting with another former City loanee Harry Wilson in Frank Lampard’s youthquake project. He made his Rams debut against Leeds United a few days after signing and scored his first goal for the club three days later in a League Cup tie against Oldham Athletic. He missed only two matches all season as Derby qualified for the end of season play-offs, beat Leeds United in the semi-final after a spying controversy then lost the Wembley final to Aston Villa.

Fikayo returned to Chelsea for the 2019/20 season and spent a second successive season playing under the management of Frank Lampard, who took up the reins in July 2019. Between September and November 2019 he was a first choice centre back, attracting attention from the England international setup, but as the season wore on he moved to the fringes of the first team and regularly sat on the bench – he was an unused substitute when Chelsea lost the August 2020 Wembley FA Cup final to Arsenal. Tomori made only one Premier League appearance in the first half of the 2020/21 season and by January 2021 he had scored two goals for Chelsea in 29 senior appearances – his second goal came in a January 2020 FA Cup tie against Hull City, celebrating wildly with the Chelsea fans despite notching against a former club.

In January 2021 Tomori joined Italian Serie A giants AC Milan on a half season loan, debuting for the Rossoneri a few days later against Bologna and scoring the only goal of his loan spell against Juventus in May 2021 – he made 22 appearances during his loan.  In June 2021 AC Milan signed Tomori on a permanent deal with Chelsea receiving a steepling £24 million for a player of limited top flight experience. His second spell at Milan began with an August 2021 victory over Sampdoria and in his first season he missed just seven League matches as his side won the Serie A title – Milan also reached the Italian Cup semi-finals and Fikayo played in both legs as city rivals Inter Milan prevailed on aggregate. Tomori was a consistent first team presence during the 2022/23 season and played in most of the 2022/23 Champions League knockout phase ties that saw Milan reach the semi-finals, only to lose out to Inter Milan again with Tomori starting both legs. In January and February 2024 he had his first long term absence from the Milan side but came back into the picture in March 2024 and helped his side finish second in the league.

Tomori was used in more of a supporting role for much of the 2024/25 season as Milan drifted to a mid-table finish in Serie A, though the Rossoneri did reach the Italian Cup final, which Fikayo started, only to lose the trophy to Bologna. he returned to regular first team action during the 2025/26 season, taking his tally for AC Milan to seven goals in 214 appearances.

Tomori was an international footballer from the early years as a youngster at Chelsea, and qualified for several countries thanks to his heritage (Nigeria), birthplace (Canada) and home country (England). In March 2016 Tomori played for the Canada Under-20 side against England but by June 2016, while still eighteen years old, he switched allegiance and made his debut for the England Under-19 side against Mexico – over the next five months he took his England Under-19 tally to 6 appearances. In September 2016 he made his debut for England Under-20 against Brazil and during the 2016/17 season he made 15 appearances at Under-20 level, culminating with seven starts in the May/June 2027 Under-20 World Cup played in South Korea, which England won after defeating Venezuela in the final. Fikayo was promoted to the England Under-21 squad in September 2017 and debuted against Latvia, over the next two years he took his tally to 15 Under-21 appearances.

In October 2019 Tomori was called up to the England senior squad and committed his international future to the Three Lions amid interest from Nigeria. 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. In March 2026 he was recalled to the England squad for the first time in three years ahead of the 2026 World Cup finals but made only one appearance in a friendly against Uruguay, his sixth cap. and was not selected for England’s final 26-man squad.

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