AC Milan have reportedly “communicated” to Chelsea that they are officially triggering the buy-option that was agreed when Fikayo Tomori joined them on loan for the rest of the season in January.
Given that this clause was apparently insisted upon by Tomori himself, it was always unlikely that he would reject the opportunity to stay, provided other factors went his way — which they certainly did. Not only did Tomori (unsurprisingly) impress practically from day one, Milan finished in the top four of the Serie A, thus qualifying for next year’s Champions League and thus being able to afford the €28.5m agreed upon fee.
Confirmed. AC Milan have just communicated to Chelsea they’re triggering €28.5m clause in order to sign Fikayo Tomori on a permanent deal. The agreement will be completed and announced next week. Contract until June 2026. #CFC #ACMilan https://t.co/8eyqeM0ITd
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 4, 2021
That fee may prove to be a bargain should Tomori, who’s agreed a five-year contract, continue to play as he has been and keep improving from there, even. The 23-year-old ended up making 22 appearances all told for Milan, starting their last 13 league matches in a row and even scoring a goal, against Juventus, of all teams.
Tomori joined Chelsea at age 8 and appeared to be one of several Academy stars who successfully made the jump to first-team level last season. But for some reason, he had fallen out of favor with Frank Lampard, and ended up playing just 7 times in the 2020 calendar year.
While the transfer to Milan is not yet official, it’s surely just a formality at this point.