Fikayo Tomori Linked with Newcastle United Move
Newcastle United’s summer rebuild has been loud in goal and busy in midfield. At the back, it still feels thin. With Liverpool looming on opening weekend, Matthias Jaissle is staring at a depth chart that could do with at least one more heavyweight.
One name keeps circling back.
Tomori back on the radar
From Italy, the Fikayo Tomori talk refuses to die. The AC Milan center back has been linked with a Premier League return for weeks, and Newcastle have repeatedly been mentioned among the interested clubs.
There is a caveat. The Athletic poured cold water on suggestions of concrete Magpies interest at the end of July, questioning how real the links actually were. The noise, though, has not gone away.
Now, reports from Quotidiano Sportivo’s Luca Mignani and talkSPORT claim the 28-year-old is increasingly likely to leave Milan before the deadline, with the Serie A club making him available for transfer.
“Now the main suspect in packing his bags is Fikayo Tomori: he was on the bench for the entire match against Chelsea, tied to the club until next June, with no renewal in sight,” Mignani wrote, painting the picture of a defender drifting towards the exit.
talkSPORT echoed that stance, reporting that “AC Milan have reportedly made Fikayo Tomori available for sale ahead of the final weeks of the transfer window,” and noting that the defender is heading into his seventh season at San Siro after first arriving on loan from Chelsea in January 2021.
A defender on the fringes
The most telling detail came in pre-season. Tomori did not play a single minute in Milan’s 3–0 defeat to Chelsea, his former club, even as new head coach Ruben Amorim rang the changes. For a player of his status, that kind of omission rarely happens by accident.
For English clubs watching closely, the situation looks increasingly inviting.
Mignani reports that several Premier League sides have already registered interest in bringing Tomori back to England, and he names three: Coventry, Newcastle and Liverpool. “The Premier League has come knocking (Coventry, Newcastle, Liverpool): now it’s time to make a move,” he wrote.
So far, though, there is no suggestion of a formal offer from Newcastle. If there is genuine interest on Tyneside, it remains at the exploratory stage. Liverpool and Coventry City are also cited as potential suitors, setting up the prospect of a three-way fight if any of them decide to push ahead.
Milan’s squeeze, Newcastle’s opening
Tomori’s situation at Milan is clear enough. He joined permanently from Chelsea for £25 million (around €29 million) in 2021 after an initial loan and has since passed 200 appearances for the club, helping deliver a Serie A title. That is a serious body of work.
But timing matters. He is now entering the final year of his contract, and Mignani reports “no renewal in sight.” At the same time, Milan are trying to trim a bloated squad that currently stands at an eye-watering 44 players. Someone has to go. Tomori, it seems, is high on that list.
What Milan actually want for him remains under wraps. Mignani’s report does not include an asking price, leaving any buying club to guess where negotiations might start. One valuation model puts his estimated worth at around €13.3 million — a figure that would look more than reasonable for a defender with his experience, if it proves anywhere close to Milan’s real demand.
The Newcastle dilemma
This is where it sharpens for Newcastle. Jaissle needs defensive help, but the brief has largely focused on full-backs. Tomori is a center back by trade. He can cover space, defend aggressively, and he knows the Premier League, yet he is not the archetypal wide defender the club have been chasing.
So the question inside the recruitment room is the same one fans are already asking themselves: do you pivot for an opportunity like Tomori, or ring-fence the remaining budget for a specialist full-back and another midfield piece?
Milan’s willingness to sell, Tomori’s contract situation, and Newcastle’s need for depth all point in the same direction. Whether the club actually step through that door is another matter entirely.
