Paolo Maldini, the Milan technical director, has sung the praises of Fikayo Tomori, who is on loan from Chelsea.
The centre-back was signed in January, with Maldini, himself a legendary defender in his playing days, apparently a big fan.
Indeed, Tomori was selected for Sunday’s big match against Roma ahead of Alessio Romagnoli, a far more established defender at San Siro. It was the 23-year-old’s fourth outing for the storied club.
Milan went on to win 2-1.
What was said?
“Fortunately, I work for a club that has an effect on players. When AC Milan call, they players always listen,” Maldini told Sky Sport Italia.
“Fikayo is a player with particular characteristics, pace and intensity, so we thought he could be a good reinforcement for this second half of the season.
“Naturally, Romagnoli isn’t happy, no player is when he doesn’t play. However, Milan are 17 points better off than last season, we’re second despite having more commitments and many injuries, so squad rotation is necessary and Alessio has played pretty much every game.”
Will Tomori sign permanently for Milan?
Maldini was asked if the Rossoneri might take advantage of the €25 million (£21.5m/$30m) purchase clause they have in the defender’s contract.
He replied: “We have an option to buy for Tomori, it’s up to us to evaluate whether we activate it or not. As for the players whose contracts are running down, we include Zlatan as well, and we have weekly discussions about that too. All I can say is there isn’t much news to tell you.”