sport news Made in Milan: Serie A winner Fikayo Tomori has his sights set on World Cup ... trends now
Fikayo Tomori enters the room with a bounce in his step. Unsurprisingly.
It's been a memorable few weeks for the central defender having played an integral role in helping AC Milan win their first Serie A title since 2011 and earning an England recall for the Nations League fixtures against Hungary, Germany and Italy off the back of his performances at the San Siro.
Tomori's earned rave reviews since arriving in Milan - initially on loan - 18 months ago. Gareth Southgate clearly likes what he sees.
Fikayo Tomori is targeting the World Cup in Qatar after excelling in Italy with AC Milan
Enriched by his regular chats with Paolo Maldini - and occasionally bumping into Franco Baresi - the former Chelsea defender appears to be on course for the World Cup.
'Obviously I speak to Paolo - he is there every day,' said Tomori. 'He doesn't really say much, he leaves that to the manager, but sometimes we do have a little chat and he asks me how things are going and speaks to us defenders as a collective.
'I remember after the last game I saw Baresi which was kind of cool. Not just defenders but you see different legends just flying about. Every time it happens you think: "woah, this is mad."' And then, of course, there is Zlatan.
At Chelsea, Tomori's opportunities became limited, therefore he went on loan to AC Milan
Tomori made an immediate impression during his Milan loan and even scored against Juve
'He is 40. We have a good team and we knew we have a very good team but if he wasn't in the squad then certain moments - when we were losing at half-time or not playing well - if he was not there, it would have been different,' explained Tomori.
'He was always talking, before the game, walking up and down and talking, talking and talking.
'He will talk to individual players and give them little bits of advice. Even if he was not on the pitch he would be talking like he was starting the game and motivating all of them.
'He was the only guy who had won with Milan and he was like "guys, if we win, be ready because it will go crazy." It would have been different with him not around. He played a big part.' Plying his trade in defending's spiritual home certainly agrees with Tomori. It helps, of course, that he's
