22 January 2021. Fikayo Tomori joins AC Milan on loan from Chelsea. 28 February 2021. Tomori replaces club captain Alessio Romagnoli in the starting line-up against Roma. The young English centre-back’s meteoric rise to prominence in a short period has surprised fans and the management alike. Since Romagnoli joined the club in the summer of 2015, many defenders have signed for Milan and have hastily departed as well. But, not one has dared, let alone managed, to dislodge the widely regarded successor to Alessandro Nesta from the starting line-up. Until Fikayo Tomori.
The Chelsea academy graduate was not Milan’s first choice. He wasn’t Milan’s second choice either. Or even the third choice, for that matter, given the laundry list of names Milan were apparently pursuing. After months of chasing Mohamed Simaken and Ozan Kabak, Milan were hastily ushered from the negotiation tables due to their infamous penny-pinching ways. Paolo Maldini employed what has recently become the club’s go-to tactic in the transfer market; a loan with an option to buy. In came Tomori.
Milan have vastly benefitted from what is increasingly looking like the last of Frank Lampard’s disastrous mistakes. Brought in to strengthen squad depth, Tomori has overturned expectations and bullied the captain out of the starting line-up with domineering performances.
Outstanding presser
Head Coach Stefano Pioli’s system of play requires frequent, high pressing across the pitch. Tomori’s defensive style fits in perfectly with this requirement. He is an outstanding presser with the highest successful pressing percentage per ninety compared to his colleagues in central defense. Tomori averages a successful press percentage of 47.2% vis a vis Simon Kjaer at 32.3% and Romagnoli at 28.6%. Successful press percentage is registered when a turnover in possession is achieved within five seconds of applying a pressing action.
A pre-requisite for a high-pressing centre-backs is recovery pace. Tomori is among the quickest players in the squad. In fact, whilst at Chelsea, he raised concerns over the debatable rating of his speed in the popular video game FIFA 20 by claiming that he was the quickest player at the club, and was wholeheartedly backed by Mason Mount. Tomori has featured in listicles as one of the ten fastest players in the Premier League in 2020. No surprise then, that he appears to be somewhat zippy.
He may even look faster than he truly is in contrast to his colleagues. Kjaer at nearly 32 isn’t a spring chicken while Romagnoli has been outpaced so often, that there are viral memes on the subject. But, it would be unfair to suggest that Tomori is cementing his position in the starting line-up only because of his pace.
Modern, yet traditional
Apart from being an aggressive presser, Tomori is excellent at some of the basic facets of defending. He wins the most tackles per ninety at 1.15 vs Kjaer 0.9 and Romagnoli 0.52. He also makes the most interceptions per ninety of the three at 2.3 vs Kjaer 3.14 vs Romagnol 1.52.
At just 23, Tomori reads the game exceptionally well and possesses phenomenal potential. An argument can be made that Tomori possesses a higher ceiling than Romagnoli did at 23. That’s high praise, as Romagnoli was augured to be the next world-class centre-back to emerge from Italy, the home of generational defenders.
Areas of improvement
Modern defenders are quick, dynamic and good passers of the ball. While Tomori is quick and dynamic, he perhaps needs to work on his ball-playing skills. His pass completion percentage – short, medium, long - is the lowest in comparison to his counterparts at Milan. When Romagnoli and Kjaer partner at the back, they are often moving the ball vertically into the final third with precise passes or by finding a diagonal runner.
Tomori, on the other hand, resorts to simple forward passes to Franck Kessié or Sandro Tonali in central midfield, creating a pressure point for turnover in dangerous positions, as Kessié and Tonali aren’t the finest transitional midfielders with the ball at their feet, especially under a press. This concern is particularly amplified in Ismaël Bennacer’s absence. Tomori is more comfortable making lateral passes, as demonstrated by his lackluster progressive passing stats. He makes the fewest progressive passes per ninety at 1.51 vs Kjaer 2.82 vs Romagnoli 2.46.
He must develop his ability to defend against aerial threats as well. He is the shortest of Milan’s top three centre-backs at 1.84m, although only marginally shorter than Romagnoli (1.85m), but wins far lesser aerial duels than Il Capitano. Romagnoli wins the most aerial duels of the top three centre-backs, clocking a successful aerial duel percentage per ninety at 70.8% with Tomori being the lowest at 51.4%. This doesn’t bode well for Tomori in the long run, whether at Milan or otherwise.
As a combative tackler, Tomori naturally commits more fouls and is unsurprisingly the highest of the three at 1.31 fouls per ninety. None of these fouls have directly led to goals, but at this rate, it is only inevitable.
What next?
Tomori has staked his claim on the first team and can be expected to feature more prominently in the last third of the campaign. If reports are to be believed, Maldini is working on redeeming Tomori at a ‘discounted rate’. According to The Athletic, Tomori’s redemption cost is set at £25 million and £5 million in add-ons. That is not a lot of money for a centre-back, but a couple of looming considerations are Milan’s delicate financial situation and the economic crisis induced by the pandemic.
There is a growing sentiment in the fanbase favouring the redemption of Tomori, even at the expense of Romagnoli. Though this may involve a great deal of recency bias and knee-jerk reaction, the option should be carefully considered, as Mino Raiola, the comically villainous agent of Romagnoli, is rumoured to demand a renewed contract at €6m per season for the Italian. Tomori may or may not be the better defender, but he is unarguably the more evolved centre-back and could fulfil the gargantuan potential he possesses at a relatively low cost.
