Why AC Milan star Tomori fully deserves his England recall

 

The end of the domestic football seasons should signal a break in the game, particularly with no summer tournament, but as 2021/22 draws to a close, the UEFA Nations League kicks off. The competition returns next week and there is no let up in the action as there are four gameweeks in the space of 10 days to account for the World Cup later this year. 

 

With that, Gareth Southgate has named his squad for the looming internationals, with James Justin and Jarrod Bowen, of Leicester and West Ham respectively, both receiving their first call ups. However, perhaps the main cause for celebration has been Fikayo Tomori's return to the international setup. 

 

Tomori has earned just two England caps in his career, and that return should be higher. He'll have plenty of chances to bump that return up in the coming weeks and it's certainly a deserved return to the England squad. 

 

AC Milan celebrated their first Scudetto in 11 years at the weekend as a 3-0 win at Sassuolo guaranteed the title would remain in Milan, but draped with Red and Black rather than Black and Blue. The charge itself was built on a solid defensive foundation as no team conceded fewer goals than AC Milan (31) in Italy's top tier. They shipped just 20 in Tomori's 30 league starts, with the 24-year-old's influence clear for all to see. 

 

The win ratio dropped from 73.3% to 50% when Tomori didn't start, while three of the four league games the Rossoneri lost came in the eight games the defender didn't feature in from the outset. A return of 73 tackles ranked among the top 10 players in the division, and, in addition, Tomori was dribbled past eight times in AC Milan's title winning campaign. It was enough to yield a WhoScored rating of 6.98, that better than any English centre-back to have started 20 more games in Europe's top five leagues this season. 

 

 

With some questionable domestic displays from his peers in the England squad, it stands to reason that Tomori deserves the opportunity to consolidate a regular starting spot for the Three Lions in the looming international break. The style of defending suits Gareth Southgate's need to dominate opponents with Tomori ranking top for passes per game (55.7) of all AC Milan players, this with Stefano Pioli implementing a counter-attacking approach that fired the Milan giants to the title. 

 

AC Milan scored more goals on the counter (9) than any other team in Serie A this season, and Tomori was able to adjust his game accordingly to ensure his side was able to rapidly turn defence into attack. Only goalkeeper Mike Maignan (6.9) made more accurate long balls per game than Tomori (3.3) of all AC Milan players and the adapability of his style of distribution is an added bonus to Southgate. 

 

While England will seek to dominate opponents, they also have the personnel to spring swift counters through the likes of Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka, so getting the ball forward quickly would aid their pursuit of goal if and when the situation does arise. 

 

Many were perplexed when Tomori was overlooked by Southgate for the March internationals, with plenty pining for the centre-back to return to the England squad earlier in the year, and their calls have finally been answered. With John Stones now 27 and both Harry Maguire and Conor Coady both turning 30 next year, Tomori is perhaps the bedrock for the next generation of England centre-backs. Southgate would be wise to act on that in the upcoming Nations League matches.

Why AC Milan star Tomori fully deserves his England recall