Chelsea have reportedly decided against sending Fikayo Tomori out on loan in the January transfer window and will reject all offers for him.
According to an exclusive report by The Sun, Chelsea have made a u-turn on their stance over the potential availability of Fikayo Tomori after Andreas Christensen sustained a knee injury. The Blues will now turn a deaf ear to any loan offers that come their way in the January transfer window.
Tomori came into 2020/21 on the back of a breakthrough campaign at Chelsea last term, when he finally managed to establish himself within the first-team setup. Having impressed on loan at Derby County under Frank Lampard, the current Chelsea boss inculcated the youngster within his squad, with the player even making grade in the English national side.
The youngster’s stock, though, has fallen considerably in the ongoing season, with the arrival of Thiago Silva coupled with Kurt Zouma’s status as the first-choice centre-back relegating him to the role of being a mere squad option. In fact, even Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger have been favoured ahead of Tomori, meaning he has only managed 3 appearances for Chelsea this term.
His declining status has, in turn, paved way for widespread speculation over his future, and there have been suggestions that Chelsea would be open to listening to offers for the 23-year-old. As a result, a number of potential suitors have emerged on his trails in recent weeks, including Leeds United, Newcastle United and others.
The interest from Leeds comes in the wake of Robin Koch’s long-term injury as well as Diego Llorente’s inability to impress Marcelo Bielsa. With captain Liam Cooper also on the sidelines at present, the Whites have been in the need of signing a centre-back this month, making Tomori a viable target, with Leeds even named as favourites in his pursuit.
As per The Sun, Tomori was also keen on sealing a loan move away from Chelsea in order to rake in valuable game-time and continue his progress. However, those prospects have now been scuppered with Chelsea unwilling to temporarily part ways with the player. This u-turn in their stance has been forced by Andreas Christensen’s knee injury, sustained against Aston Villa last month.
There are fears that the Dane could be sidelined for a stretched period, which would leave Lampard short of central defensive options if Tomori was to leave as well. So, it does make sense that Chelsea would want to hold on to Tomori, whose prospects of amassing more minutes could be boosted if Christensen is indeed out for a long time. So, for all intents and purposes, it looks like Tomori is set to stay put at Chelsea this month.
