Fikayo Tomori is back in the Milan squad after failing to secure a deadline-day exit, with Ruben Amorim personally informing the defender of the decision to welcome him back.
Tomori had spent the closing weeks of the window training apart from the group, part of the so-called bomb squad Amorim had set aside and placed on the market. With no move materialising and no replacement arriving, the situation has reversed itself.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tomori was the first to be told of the club's change of heart, with Amorim delivering the news directly. The Englishman was pleased, having always preferred to stay at Milan rather than force a move.
The final push for an exit came in London, where Tomori and his agent followed talks with Fulham, who were chasing a defender. He had shown openness to the switch, but he and his entourage came to understand that the conditions for a deal were not there.
The reinstatement was agreed jointly between Amorim and the management, and is framed as the best available outcome for the player. Tomori is one of four survivors from the 2021-22 Scudetto squad, alongside Maignan, Gabbia and Saelemaekers, and his attachment to the club runs deep.
He has shown it before, twice turning down Juventus as well as interest from Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa, and playing through physical problems late last season. Even while training separately, he kept his fitness up, so conditioning is not an issue. He returns to the No.23, which had not been reassigned in his absence.
Gianluca Di Marzio confirmed the development. "AC Milan have reinstated Fikayo Tomori: the English defender returns to the Milan squad. The Englishman had been included among the players excluded from Ruben Amorim's project and put on the market, but no solution has been found for his transfer," he wrote.
"For this reason and due to the failure of a replacement to arrive, Tomori returns to the team's disposal and is once again included in the AC Milan squad."
The timing could matter on the pitch, with Matteo Gabbia injured and Juventus visiting on Sunday, leaving Amorim short of options at the back and Tomori a candidate for minutes far sooner than anyone expected a week ago.