Gareth Southgate was trending on Twitter as Sunday bled into the start of the working week. It’s not an uncommon occurrence for the England manager but it was the latest sign of the clamour for a certain centre-back to make the national squad.
One thousand miles away, Fikayo Tomori spent Sunday night convulsing happily around the Mapei Stadium in northern Italy. He had just helped AC Milan clinch their first Scudetto since 2011 with a thumping 3-0 win at Sassuolo.
After being unceremoniously dumped by Chelsea, Tomori took the opportunity to spread his wings and has grown into his own skin at the San Siro.
Tomori has been a central part of a Milan rear-guard that achieved their best defensive record for a decade – they conceded two goals in their final 11 league matches – and has formed a watertight partnership with Pierre Kalulu.
No wonder he’s being held up as the future of the Milan defence. And the Italians know a thing or two about defending.
Alessandro Nesta said Tomori and Kalulu are “two modern centre-backs who put pressure high up the pitch and leave a lot of space behind – that allows the team to stay high, which is fundamental nowadays.”
For the notoriously hard-to-please Fabio Capello, the pair represent “the future of Milan”.
While Mauro Tassotti, who formed one of the great Milan defences alongside Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta, said: “Tomori is good at winning the ball back, his speed is impressive. He anticipates a lot and he’s always aggressive.”
With Harry Maguire enduring a torrid season at Manchester United and John Stones not guaranteed a starting spot at Manchester City, there’s an argument that Tomori has been the standout English defender in 2021-22.
His exclusion from the March squad was baffling, Southgate justifying Tomori’s omission by explaining he wanted to keep continuity from England’s success in Euro 2020.
That explanation will wear thin if Tomori is not picked for…
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