Football Italia
·28 dicembre 2024
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·28 dicembre 2024
Reports of a potential sale of Milan defender Fikayo Tomori to Serie A rivals Juventus continue to circulate in the Italian press over the festive period. Here are some of the reasons why the Rossoneri might consider selling the former Chelsea centre-back, and why some supporters oppose the idea.
Though he has been a regular in Paulo Fonseca’s Champions League line-ups, Tomori has fallen out of favour in Serie A, and has not started in the league since the 2-1 loss to Fiorentina at the beginning of October.
Federico Dimarco of FC Inter is challenged by Fikayo Tomori Serie A TIM match between AC Milan and FC Internazionale at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on April 22, 2024. (Photo by Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images)
For that reason, he is currently considered as a ‘luxury’ reserve option, as Matteo Gabbia and Malick Thiaw remain the preferred options at centre-back in league fixtures.
Milan also invested a decent amount in Strahinja Pavlovic, who is also available to rotate with Gabbia and Thiaw.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, if Milan were to sanction a sale of Tomori, the funds raised would likely be used to strengthen other areas of the pitch, such as at left-back, central midfield or on the wing, as opposed to a new and likely lower-value centre-back.
The deal that saw Pierre Kalulu move to Turin from San Siro in the summer is still fresh in the minds of the Rossoneri supporters, many of whom are still angered and confused by the decision to sell a competitive first-team player to a direct league rival.
Six months down the line, Milan and Juve are within just five points of each other in the league standings, although the Rossoneri do have an extra game in hand.
The feeling is that both teams will be battling for one of the final Champions League positions by the end of the season, and so, selling another first-team player to a direct rival, in the window following the deal involving Kalulu, is a considerable risk.