Oluwafikayomi Oluwadamilola "Fikayo" Tomori (born 19 December 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club AC Milan and the England national team. Born in Canada, he represents England at international level.
![]() Tomori playing for Milan in 2022 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Oluwafikayomi Oluwadamilola Tomori[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1997-12-19) 19 December 1997 (age 24)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | AC Milan | ||
Number | 23 | ||
Youth career | |||
Riverview United | |||
2005–2016 | Chelsea | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2016–2021 | Chelsea | 17 | (1) |
2017 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 9 | (0) |
2017–2018 | → Hull City (loan) | 25 | (0) |
2018–2019 | → Derby County (loan) | 44 | (1) |
2021 | → AC Milan (loan) | 17 | (1) |
2021– | AC Milan | 38 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2016 | Canada U20 | 3 | (0) |
2016 | England U19 | 5 | (0) |
2016–2017 | England U20 | 15 | (0) |
2017–2019 | England U21 | 15 | (0) |
2019– | England | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:29, 18 September 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:37, 11 June 2022 (UTC) |
Tomori was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Nigerian parents. Before the age of one, Tomori moved with his family to England where he was raised.[3][4] He began playing for Riverview United in Kent when he was six.[4] Growing up, his footballing idol was Thierry Henry.[5] He attended Gravesend Grammar School in Kent from 2009 until 2014, when he decided to leave Gravesend to go to Chelsea full time at age 16.
Tomori joined the Chelsea Academy at under-8 level and progressed through the club's academy system.[6] He was part of the Chelsea youth side which recorded back to back triumphs in both the UEFA Youth League and the FA Youth Cup in 2015 and 2016.[6]
On 11 May 2016, Tomori was named to the first-team substitute bench along with fellow academy players Tammy Abraham and Kasey Palmer, in Chelsea's 1–1 draw with Liverpool. However, he failed to make an appearance at Anfield.[7] On 15 May 2016, in Chelsea's final game of the 2015/16 campaign, Tomori made his professional debut in a 1–1 draw with Premier League champions Leicester City, replacing Branislav Ivanović in the 60th minute.[8] Although Tomori was included in the United States pre-season tour, he did not make a single appearance.[9] On 1 August 2016, Tomori signed a new four-year contract ahead of the 2016–17 campaign.[10] On 12 August 2016, Tomori was handed the number 33 shirt prior to the season's beginning, switching from his previous number 43.[11]
On 23 January 2017, Tomori joined Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on loan for the remainder of the 2016–17 campaign.[12] Five days later, Tomori made his Brighton debut in a 3–1 away defeat against National League side Lincoln City in the FA Cup fourth round, in which he scored an own goal to give Lincoln the lead.[13] On 18 February 2017, Tomori made his league debut for Brighton, in their 2–0 away victory against Barnsley, replacing Anthony Knockaert in stoppage time of the second half.[14] On 18 March 2017, Tomori was given his first start for Brighton in their 2–0 away defeat against Leeds United, featuring for the entire 90 minutes.[15]
On 31 August 2017, Tomori joined Championship side Hull City on a season long loan deal.[16] He made his debut on 13 September 2017, in a 2–1 defeat away to Fulham.[17]
On 6 August 2018, Tomori joined Championship side Derby County on a season long loan.[18] He made his debut on 11 August in a 1–4 loss against Leeds United.[19][20] His time at the club saw him named the club's "Player of the Year".[21]
Following the expiration of his loan, Tomori returned to Chelsea where he was given the No. 29 shirt.[22] On 31 August 2019, Tomori made his first start for Chelsea against Sheffield United, which ended a 2–2 draw at Stamford Bridge.[23] He scored his first goal for Chelsea on 14 September 2019, opening the scoring with long-range curler from outside the box, in a 5–2 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.[24] He scored a header against former club Hull City to help Chelsea to a 2–1 win in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the KCOM Stadium on 25 January 2020.[25]
On 22 January 2021, Tomori joined Italian side AC Milan on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season with an option to buy.[26] Four days later, he made his debut in the Coppa Italia quarter-final against Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, coming on as a substitute for the injured Simon Kjær in a 2–1 away defeat.[27] On 9 May 2021, Tomori scored his first goal for Milan in a 3–0 away league win over rivals Juventus.[28] Tomori became the first Englishman to score for Milan since David Beckham in 2009 and it was the club's first away win against Juventus in the league since March 2011.[29]
On 17 June 2021, Tomori signed a permanent deal with Milan until 30 June 2025, after the club exercised their £25m buy option from his previous loan.[30] Tomori opted to take shirt No.23 at Milan [31]
Tomori scored his first goal of the season on 7 December 2021, against Liverpool in a Champions League match; Milan eventually lost 2–1.[32] With his teammate Simon Kjær out of action for the remainder of season due to injury, Tomori became a regular in the starting line up. On 12 March 2022, as Milan won 1–0 against Empoli, they managed to secure two clean sheets in a row for the first time in 2022, courtesy of Tomori partnering in defense with Pierre Kalulu.[33]
On 22 May Milan secured their first Scudetto in 11 years; Tomori being a pivotal part in Milan's defence, which conceded only 31 goals throughout the campaign (the best number in the league beside Napoli). Milan also conceded only 2 goals in their last 11 matches of the campaign when the Tomori and Kalulu partnership started.[citation needed]
On 12 August 2022, Tomori signed a new contract with Milan until 30 June 2027.[34]
Tomori was eligible to represent Nigeria at international level through his parents,[35] Canada through his birth in Calgary and England through having lived in the country since he was a child.[36] On 17 November 2019, Tomori made his competitive England debut against Kosovo in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier, thus tying his future to the country.[37]
On 27 March 2016, Tomori captained Canada U20 to a 2–1 victory over England U20 on his third appearance for the nation.[38][39]
On 16 May 2016, in the next international break and a day after making his professional club debut, Tomori was called up to the England U19 squad.[38] On 4 June 2016, Tomori made his England U19 debut in a 2–0 defeat against Mexico U20s, playing the full 90 minutes.[40] Tomori was also part of the England 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship squad which reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by Italy.
Tomori was selected for the England under-20 team in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Tomori however scored an own goal in England's second group game against Guinea.[41] Nevertheless, Tomori would help England beat Venezuela in the final 1–0, which was England's first win in a global tournament since their World Cup victory of 1966.[42]
On 27 May 2019, Tomori was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[43]
On 3 October 2019, Tomori received his first call-up to the England senior squad for forthcoming Euro 2020 qualifying matches.[44] He later said he was committed to playing for England, following interest from Nigeria and Canada; he had previously represented Canada at youth level.[45] Tomori made his debut for England on 17 November 2019 against Kosovo in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier.[37]
Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Chelsea | 2015–16[47] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2019–20[48] | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
2020–21[49] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
Total | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 2 | ||
Chelsea U23 | 2016–17[50] | — | — | — | — | 2[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 2016–17[50] | Championship | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
Hull City (loan) | 2017–18[51] | Championship | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 0 | |||
Derby County (loan) | 2018–19[52] | Championship | 44 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 3[lower-alpha 6] | 0 | 55 | 2 | |
AC Milan (loan) | 2020–21[53] | Serie A | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 7] | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
AC Milan | 2021–22[53] | Serie A | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 5[lower-alpha 3] | 1 | — | 40 | 1 | ||
2022–23[53] | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
Total | 55 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 2 | ||
Career total | 150 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 191 | 6 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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England | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
2020 | 0 | 0 | |
2021 | 1 | 0 | |
2022 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 3 | 0 |
Chelsea Youth
Chelsea
AC Milan
England U20
England U21
Individual
A.C. Milan – current squad | |
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Derby County F.C. – Player of the Year | |
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