Tomori thriving under Maldini’s gaze

England defender Fikayo Tomori says playing under the gaze of Italian great Paolo Maldini at AC Milan has helped him produce the form to earn a recall to Gareth Southgate’s squad.

The former Chelsea defender, who joined the Serie A club in June after an impressive loan spell, is earning rave reviews at the San Siro and he now has the chance to resume his England career after earning one cap in 2019.

Some of Tomori’s defending has been likened to Maldini, a cult hero at Milan who is now the club’s technical director.

“When he was speaking to me, I was like ‘woah, it’s Paolo Maldini’,” the Canadaborn 23-year-old told a news conference yesterday ahead of England’s World Cup qualifier.