The first time Fikayo Tomori played at Stamford Bridge he was on-loan at Derby and scored an own-goal within five minutes. It was a surreal moment. Chelsea gave permission to the Rams to play Tomori and Mason Mount at the time in the face of aiding their development.
The Blues would go on to win the game 3-2, but Tomori was back at the club less than 12-months later and scored on just his second start of the 2019/20 season under Frank Lampard, a world class curling finish.
Returning to Stamford Bridge in opposition colours for the first time since leaving the club, Tomori comes back a much better player. A more polished outfit and one that the Blues will do well to look at without a sense of regret.
READ MORE Brave Todd Boehly backed to deliver Chelsea success after ending Roman Abramovich tradition
Tomori's decision to leave on loan to Milan in January 2021 is now a well told tale. Not involved enough by Lampard and gone before Thomas Tuchel could come in, the 24-year-old left and hasn't looked back since. In the time he's gone he has got himself back into international contention, won Serie A and paved his way as one of the leading centre-backs in Italy.
As he comes back to win and put his boyhood club under immense pressure in Europe, there's a desire to show what he can do: "Every footballer, when you get on the pitch, there's a point to prove," he said in the lead up to Graham Potter's crucial Champions League group stage tie.
"Obviously coming from Chelsea and being English, there's probably that added motivation. I guess you could say that maybe I've played differently [at AC Milan] or whatever it is. [The year] 2020 was difficult, not just for me, obviously there was Covid so it was difficult for everyone. I was just itching to get back on the pitch, itching to be playing, and Milan gave me an opportunity and now I'm here.
"It's just another chance for me to see some familiar faces as well as to, I guess, show how I've developed. I know people have watched the Milan games but going back to Stamford Bridge where it all kind of started, it's another chance to show myself again."
Those that have monitored Tomori's progress won't be expecting an easy ride. The Englishman has helped to transform Milan into title contenders once more and has lost just one of his last 22 league games, keeping 12 cleansheets in the process.
Having trained and played against some of the most demanding forwards, Olivier Giroud, Raphael Leao and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all in training - Dusan Vlahovic, Ciro Immobile, Romelu Lukaku and even Tammy Abraham in matches - Tomori has had competition against some of the best.
He will now be facing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, most likely, and has revealed where he has improved most. "I think I'm a cleverer defender, whether it's little fouls or positioning yourself," he says. "Being in Italy, players are notorious for being good defenders, being tough to beat, being nasty and stuff like that. It's definitely something I've picked up on - how much pride, how much effort and how much detail is put into every phase of defending.
"Training against Zlatan, you can't really be too timid because if you are, he'll score 10 goals against you," Tomori adds. "So you have to be a bit tougher, you have to be nasty in a sense. Obviously, having a player like him, who's played against the world's best, is going to make me a better defender."
Ibrahimovic is now 41 and not the same fearsome forward he was when he helped Paris Saint-Germain to knock Chelsea out at the last-16 phase in 2014/15 and 2015/16. The Swedish striker has been suffering with an injury since the end of last season and hasn't played this term, missing the last eight matches with a knee problem, his last goal came on January 9.
That doesn't stop the previously feared striker from helping his team: "He's such a well-rounded figure and having him in a dressing room, especially last season when he was injured for a lot of it, we could still see the impact he had," said Tomori. "Just being there with the team, his voice, the way he sees the game, having him around the squad definitely helped us, for sure."
Chelsea's own defenders won't have to deal with Ibrahimovic at Stamford Bridge but they will have to battle out against Giroud and at the other end find a way past Tomori. It's Potter's biggest ever game and even for someone who has now won a title, perhaps there's never been a bigger point to prove for the defender on his return to London.
READ MORE
- Graham Potter 'completes' first Chelsea transfer as £53m bid accepted and pre-contract agreed
- Chelsea excited by new deal to help Todd Boehly keep his promise on next generation of talent
- Heartbreaker!' – National media react to Chelsea's first Premier League win under Graham Potter
- Graham Potter reveals Ben Chilwell's Chelsea role and Christian Pulisic conversation
- Chelsea's next six Premier League fixtures compared to Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City
