Tomori on whether playing in Serie A affects England call-ups: ‘I know they’re watching’

Fikayo Tomori believes that playing in Serie A does not harm his chances of being called up to the England national team, pointing to his Rossoneri teammate Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jarrel Quansah, currently playing in the Bundesliga, as examples of players who have excelled after leaving the Premier League. 

The 27-year-old has racked up 189 competitive appearances for Milan since leaving Chelsea in 2020, including 122 in Serie A, but has only earned five England caps to date, his last coming more than two years ago in October 2023. 

Despite his lack of opportunities for the Three Lions, Tomori does not believe that his playing in Serie A is the reason why he gets overlooked. 

“I got selected when I was playing in Italy, so I know they’re watching,” Tomori said on the Filthyfellas podcast. 

“And Ruben (Loftus-Cheek) got selected the last camp and the camp before that, and even (Marcus) Rashford is getting selected, Quansah’s getting selected, so it’s not ‘out of sight, out of mind’.” 

He does admit that playing in the Premier League brings more immediate exposure to those who make the decisions for the England national team, but still believes that playing in Italy does not rule him out of contention. 

“But obviously, the England national team coach is going to be watching games in England, it’s easier for him to see. That’s understandable, but it’s not like I’m thinking because I’m here, he’s never going to see me.” 

Tomori also spoke of his initial decision to join Milan from Chelsea in 2020. 

“I always knew I was going to play abroad, I always felt it, I just didn’t know where. When Milan came, it was like … That’s the one. 

“When I moved there, it was the end of COVID, it wasn’t like I was suddenly in a new city being like ‘what’s going on’. I was in my hotel most of the time, so even if I went out, there weren’t many people outside. When I got there, it was pretty easy.”