Why Newcastle signing Fikayo Tomori on loan would be a real coup
According to The Northern Echo, Newcastle United are targeting a loan deal for out-of-favour Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori ahead of the January transfer window.
As per the report, Magpies boss Steve Bruce will only be limited to loan signings during the mid-season trading period due to club owner Mike Ashley’s ongoing legal action against the Premier League.
Profile
Born in Calgary, Canada, Fikayo Tomori joined Chelsea’s youth system back in 2005 and went on to represent the Blues across various age-groups, winning 2 FA Youth Cups and 2 UEFA Youth League titles.
Having made his league debut for Chelsea against Leicester City during the 2015-16 season, Tomori was loaned out to Brighton in the Championship to enhance his development with more regular game time.
The central defender subsequently spent time on loan at Hull City and Derby County in the second-tier, winning the Player of the Year award with the latter as the Rams made it all the way through to the Championship Playoffs under Frank Lampard in 2018-19. Tomori established himself in a prominent role at the back for Chelsea last season, featuring 22 times in all competitions.
Tomori, though, found himself down the pecking order towards the second half of last season and has continued to struggle for regular minutes at Stamford Bridge this term.
Tomori would add more depth to Newcastle’s backline
Newcastle enjoyed a successful summer window with lucrative signings like Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser, Jeff Hendrick and Jamal Lewis all coming through the door at St. James’ Park. Despite that, however, the Magpies have endured a lacklustre start to the campaign and currently find themselves languishing at 12th place in the standings (at the time of writing) with 14 points from 10 games.
While Steve Bruce’s side have managed only 12 goals in the league, they haven’t looked too comfortable at the back either, conceding 15 times already. Those numbers clearly epitomise the need for some fresh recruits in January if the Magpies are to climb up the table and eventually push for a respectable finish.
Bruce has rotated between back-four and back-five systems with little success in the Premier League this season. Federico Fernandez and Jamal Lascelles have been the only regular fixtures for the club in central defence, with Ciaran Clark and Fabian Schar both finding themselves in and out of the mix. Newcastle’s woes at the back have been further compounded by the injury to Paul Dummett.
Hence, Newcastle completing a loan deal for Fikayo Tomori would add some much-needed pace, power and youthful exuberance to an ageing central defensive cavalry at Tyneside. The 22-year-old has shown that he’s more than capable of keeping the opposition at bay when provided with regular game time, meaning his arrival in January would certainly be a boost to the Magpies.
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Verdict
Tomori’s stocks have somewhat plummeted over the past six months after a bright start to life at Chelsea early last season. However, that has nothing to do with his quality and potential as an exciting young centre-back, with competition for places at Stamford Bridge currently very high.
The 1-cap England international needs to play regularly to progress in the right direction and a move to Newcastle in January would surely be in the best interests of all parties involved.
