3/1 To Win
Fikayo Tomori says he is loving life under Frank Lampard at Derby County as the central defender prepares for this evening’s international friendly with England Under-21s against Italy.
The 20-year-old linked up with his team-mates at the start of the week and will be in the squad to face Italy in a friendly, as part of their preparations for the 2019 Under-21 European Championships, at the Stadio Paolo Mazza this evening.
Ahead of the game, Tomori has hailed his manager’s influence after arriving on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea in August and said: “Coming from Chelsea, he is a legend. Not too long ago, I was in the Academy there and he was scoring for Chelsea.
“I was watching his games whilst he was there and now he’s managing me.
"I know he knows what he is talking about. He has been at the highest level of the game, played for England and Chelsea, so for him to be my manager, I know he wants the best for me.”
Development is the key for the central defender, who has been in fine form for Lampard's side so far this season.
He has featured 19 times for Derby whilst in the summer of 2017, he won the Under-20 World Cup with England.
“When you are winning, development is easier,” he admitted when commenting on his international development.
“Everyone is happier and likes coming in so I think the fact everything has gone well for us, we are coming into the business end now. We will face more problems and that will help us going into the Euros.
“Even now, to say I have won a World Cup is a bit surreal. It was a great experience and going into that tournament we knew we had a great team.
"A lot of us are here now preparing for the Euros so hopefully we can produce similar performances that won us the World Cup in the Euros.”
