Starring role for Canada put Tomori on FA’s radar

ENGLAND new boy Fikayo Tomori’s performance in shackling Marcus Rashford while playing for Canada Under 20s in 2016 persuaded Football Association chiefs to target the Chelsea defender. It was Tomori’s faultless display against England’s Under 20s, in a team that also included Harry Winks, Angus Gunn and Mason Holgate, in Canada’s 2-1 win at the Keepmoat Stadium in March 2016 that alerted coaches to his talent. His job in marking Rashford convinced the FA to apply for his registration to be converted so he could play for England. He was named in England’s Under 19 squad two months later. Tomori (above) was born in Canada but brought up in England, making him eligible for both nations. He is also able to play for Nigeria through his parents. If he plays in this month’s Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria he will be committed to England for his career. Tomori was one of three Chelsea academy graduates named in Gareth Southgate’s squad yesterday, joining Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham. Mount believes Tomori has the quality to make the step up. Speaking after Chelsea’s win over Lille on Wednesday, he said: ‘I’m very close to Fik so my opinion is he can definitely get in the England team. He’s definitely good enough.’ With Ruben LoftusCheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi expected to break back into the squad once they have recovered from injury, Chelsea’s academy will have a strong contingent in the senior England set-up. ‘The opportunity they’ve been given by Frank Lampard has been fabulous,’ said Southgate. ‘I’ve talked about opportunities for young English players and said that we’ve got good players who need the chance to play.’