I still cannot understand why Tomori had a £25m buy option – Talk Chelsea

Today we say farewell to a Chelsea player who grew up supporting and playing for the club from a very young age, a player from the same youth setup as the likes of Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham.

I’m not naïve enough to think that every young player in Chelsea’s academy is going to make it. In fact, you have to be VERY special to prove you’ve got enough to break through the ranks and make it in this ambitious Chelsea team.

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However, the Fikayo Tomori story is nothing short of odd. He was a regular for Frank Lampard at Derby County, and the pair seemed to have created a solid bond as they continued their work at Chelsea.

Tomori once again was a trusted selection for Lampard in his first season. But the second season was a different story, he went from first or second choice centre back, to pretty much fifth choice very rapidly, and in the summer despite getting loan offers, he opted to stay at Chelsea.

Something was already really odd about this situation. Perhaps Lampard just lost trust in him? Maybe there is more to it than that. But Tomori was soon off to join Italian giants AC Milan, who had not lost faith or trust in his ability.

Fair enough, a loan was good for all parties. He needed to play, and Chelsea had too many centre backs.

But why on earth did they agree to put an option to buy in the deal for just £25m? Which seems very cheap for a top young defender. But the value isn’t the point, why put one in there at all?

Tomori could have gone on loan, and then returned this summer, THEN the decision could have been made on whether the keep, sell, or loan him out again.

There literally isn’t even one positive I can think of to allowing him to be signed at the end of his loan deal for £25m, nothing at all.

I get Milan might have demanded it as part of the deal, but then why not just say not then and find another loanee club? Because there were other suitors.

Best of luck Tomori, and let’s hope we don’t really live to regret this decision.

For what it’s worth, I think Tomori still needs to make a few improvements to become the complete player, but I have no doubt he will become the complete player.