AC Milan confirmed their second signing of the summer this week as Fikayo Tomori joined on a permanent deal to follow Mike Maignan’s move.
As noted on the club’s official site, the 23-year-old has joined us on a permanent move from Chelsea, and has signed a contract that runs until 2025.
READ MORE: Official: AC Milan confirm signing of Fikayo Tomori on permanent deal
After impressing during his initial loan spell with us last season, Tomori has now been added to the squad on a long-term basis, and he’ll hope to firmly establish himself as a pillar of the side moving forward.
Meanwhile, with Gianluigi Donnarumma set to leave when his contract expires at the end of the month, Milan moved to bring in Maignan to fill the void, and so Stefano Pioli will no doubt be pleased with the way his defensive unit is shaping up ahead of the new campaign.
Building a solid foundation is the key to a successful team, and while Milan were much-improved in that department last season, it’s hoped that we can continue to get better and become a much more difficult team to beat.
With Maignan and Tomori forming a key part of that, it strengthens the side and ultimately it’s commendable that Milan have got on with their business early this summer to tie up two important deals.
Naturally, Euro 2020 will slow activity down and so a degree of patience might be needed before we see further movement, but there is little doubt that the Rossoneri are far from done in this transfer window.
Hakan Calhanoglu’s current contract expires in a matter of weeks and so a big decision is needed in terms of whether or not he’ll remain as our No.10 and creative spark in the final third, or if he’ll move on and will need to be replaced.
Additional quality depth and competition up front to challenge Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an absolute necessity this summer as we can’t rely on the 39-year-old to play every game, particularly having now secured a return to the Champions League.
Further, it could be fairly argued that Milan need to add more creative class to the side as it was lacking last season at key moments, and so a playmaker and a right-winger could be on the agenda.
While that is still a significant amount to address and it’s vital we do so before the season starts, Milan have made a positive start to the transfer window as we’ve solidified two more positions in the starting XI.
When fully fit, Pioli will arguably look to Maignan, Davide Calabria, Simon Kjaer, Tomori, Theo Hernandez, Franck Kessie and Ismael Bennacer to create the core of his side.
Beyond that, there are still question marks with Ante Rebic and Ibrahimovic perhaps the only individuals who can be confident of a regular starting berth.
Time will tell how Milan fix those concerns in the coming weeks, but in Maignan and Tomori, the management have made two sound long-term investments who will be pivotal to our long-term success as they represent the modern-day footballer stylistically to be able to flourish on the big stages.