AC Milan and England defender, Fikayo Tomori says he feels very Nigerian despite choosing to represent the Three Lions.
Tomori, who’s eligible to represent three countries including Canada, Nigeria and England in an interview with DAZN, said he grew up with parents who always spoke to him in the local dialect and also gave him local food to eat.
“My name is Nigerian and it means, ‘God has filled me with joy, it is typical in Nigeria to give such names,” Tomori told DAZN in an interview quoted by the MilanPress.
“I feel very Nigerian, when I was little my parents spoke to me in the local language and I ate typical Nigerian food.”
In November 2020, Tomori represented the Three Lions in fixture against Kosovo and has yet to receive a call up for almost a year. Since that time, he’s changed clubs, after a promising start to his senior Chelsea career got extinguished as he found it hard to see game time. He was loaned to AC Milan in January and completed a permanent move to the Rossoneri in the summer.
Tomori, at the time of his England callup said Nigeria never invited him to play and he had no choice when the Three Lions call came through.
In the interview with DAZN, he also spoke about his relationship with another England international of Nigerian descent, Tammy Abraham who’s currently with Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma. Abraham and Tomori both joined Chelsea Academy at seven and went gone on to impress with the senior team, which earned them good moves to other clubs.
He also spoke about his Chelsea career and how his dreams came through.
“I managed to make my dreams come true: I played at Stamford Bridge, I played in the Premier League and Champions League, I made my debut with the English national team.
“Now I am very happy at Milan and I am happy with what we are doing. Now we are finally also in the Champions League and maybe we can even win it like Chelsea did.”
