Fikayo Tomori determined to end England agony after defender lands recall

Recalled defender Fikayo Tomori is determined to make his mark with England after shining for title-winning AC Milan, where his front-row seat for Italy’s Euro 2020 celebrations has provided extra motivation.

The 24-year-old has just helped the Rossoneri win Serie A for the first time since 2011, having flourished since switching Stamford Bridge for San Siro, initially on loan, at the start of last year.

Tomori earned plaudits aplenty in Italy but was largely overlooked by Gareth Southgate, who handed the Chelsea academy product his England debut against Kosovo in November 2019.

The only call-up since then came last October, when the defender came off the bench against Andorra to win a second cap – a figure that will surely swell after being recalled for this month’s Nations League matches.

“If I don’t get called up, I’m not thinking ‘ah, what’s happening?’” Tomori said.

“I’ve seen (Jadon) Sancho, Tammy (Abraham), Jude (Bellingham) – players who play abroad still getting called up so I wasn’t panicking in that sort of sense or thinking ‘what’s going to happen if I don’t get called up?’ or whatever.

“I was just focusing on my own performance and helping Milan as much as possible. From there, if I do get called up, once I’m here, making sure I take the steps to stay here.

“That’s been my mentality all the way through. I’m not putting too much pressure on myself, getting wound up about not being selected. It was just ‘stay calm, keep doing what I’m doing’ and then from there hopefully I can get in the squad.

“Being back into the set-up and having the opportunity to be here is nice for me. Hopefully I get the chance to play and give a good account of myself.”

Tomori certainly has the quality to help England’s backline, which