Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori set to join AC Milan permanently

Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori set to join AC Milan permanently after the Serie a giants activated his release clause

Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori will join AC Milan on a permanent deal as the Italian Serie A side activated his release clause.

The 23-year-old defender made 27 appearances for Chelsea in 2019-2020, but fell out of favour at the end of the season and only made one appearance in the first half of 2020-21.

A loan at AC Milan, on the other hand, resurrected Tomori's career. 

Tomori joined the Rossoneri in January and went on to play in 17 Serie A games for the Milan giants, scoring one goal.

In AC Milan's 3-0 thrashing of previous champions Juventus, the Englishman stood out, brilliantly keeping Cristiano Ronaldo quiet and popping up with the third goal, which he nodded in from a corner.

Chelsea, on the other hand, did not seem to miss the youngster, winning the Champions League at the end of the 2020-21 season. 

With a plethora of centre backs currently on the books, including Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, and Kurt Zouma, it seems evident that Tomori should depart.

A 28.5million Euro option to buy was included in Tomori's contract when he signed for the Italian club on loan.

Milan have been interested to activate the clause after Tomori's impressive performances.

And according to transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, they have now formally activated the clause to keep Tomori at the San Siro on a permanent basis.

Fikayo Tomori joins AC Milan on a permanent deal, confirmed. €28.5m to Chelsea as final fee. The clause has been triggered. 🔴 #ACMilan #CFC https://t.co/gaaFRRlrDX

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 16, 2021

Tomori can consider himself unlucky not to have been selected by Gareth Southgate for the European Championships, given his high-quality display in Italy.

This will come as a comfort to Milan, who will now be able to integrate the ex-Chelsea midfielder into a complete pre-season, a luxury enjoyed by a few of their rivals.