Fikayo Tomori warns the Scudetto success means opponents have changed their approach to Milan, who need ‘to find others ways to win,’ and he’s still smarting after that England World Cup snub.
The Rossoneri resumed training last week and had their first friendly yesterday during the break for the 2022 World Cup, losing 2-1 to Arsenal in the Dubai Super Cup.
They are second in the Serie A table behind Napoli and hope 2023 can allow them to close that gap to defend their title.
“In my view, the most difficult thing for us will be winning again,” Tomori told Sky Sport Italia and DAZN.
“We knew full well last season that not many people believed we would win, but now we have won and the Scudetto symbol is on our chests.
“That means when we play, our opponents tend to change their tactics and try not to lose, so we in turn need to find other ways to win. We love the sensation of victory and it’s more difficult this time, but we can keep getting stronger.”
Tomori turns 25 next week and is developing his game at Milan, even scoring a crucial goal to beat Juventus 2-0 in October.
“It is something I want to improve on. I know my job is to defend, but I would like to score more goals too. I really admire a lot of the defenders in Serie A, like Kim Min-jae at Napoli, Milan Skriniar, Leonardo Bonucci and Bremer. Seeing them makes me want to improve.”
England crashed out of the Qatar World Cup in the quarter-finals and could perhaps have done with a player like Tomori, but he was snubbed by coach Gareth Southgate, along with Roma pair Tammy Abraham and Chris Smalling.
“Obviously I am disappointed, because I wanted to be there in Qatar. I know that I have to give more to earn my call-up for the 2024 Euros, so I must keep working and see what happens.
“At this moment, I am happy with the way I am playing for Milan.”
A product of the Chelsea youth academy, Tomori was born in Canada and played for them at Under-20 level before switching to England, where he amassed 15 caps at Under-21 and three senior appearances.
He should’ve chosen Canada. He was born to play in that team.