Fikayo Tomori: How Canada helped set ‘mystery’ defender on path to stardom

It was interesting to note that his current reading is about “leadership in business” for, while Lampard has spoken about how Tomori can be “quiet”, Gale says he stepped up when he made him captain for the surprise 2-1 win over England back when he had Rashford in his pocket.

Prior to the game, Tomori used his knowledge of the England players to help settle the nerves of his team-mates, who were on average three years older than their Canadian opponents, according to Gale.

“Fikayo was saying, ‘look I’ve played against these guys before, they are the same as you guys, just regular young lads, trying to make their trade so don’t give them too much respect’,” he says.

“It hasn’t been the easiest road for him and he hasn’t always been touted as the star man, but every challenge in front of him, he’s risen to the occasion.

“He’s a first-class person, first and foremost, he’s humble and hardworking and if you’re like that, you’ve got a chance to make it at the highest level, but he likes to defend and reminds me a little of Des Walker.

“He is a difficult defender to play against and you need that in the modern game. You see all these defenders now and half the time it’s about what they can do on the ball, but we’ve lost the art of defending and that’s what he’s good at.”

Dawson, who played with Walker at the start of his Nottingham Forest career, says he can see the likeness between the two defenders and says Tomori’s pace and familiarity with team-mates will help him adapt to international football.

“It’s a bit of a surprise how quickly he’s made it into the England squad,” Dawson says. “But he’s taken his opportunity with Chelsea and Gareth is breeding a young group who play with no fear.”

There has been little sign that life in the Premier League has fazed Tomori, who is in the top 10 for top speeds, interceptions and tackles among top-flight central defenders this season despite only playing five of Chelsea’s eight games.

And after England’s shaky display in the 2-1 defeat by Czech Republic on Friday, Tomori’s arrival may be just what Southgate’s team need.

If he makes his debut on Monday, there will be no sour grapes for Gale, who describes himself as an England fan. His only disappointment was with England’s coaches, who did not approach him directly to say they wanted to recruit the youngster.

“It was a bit cloak-and-dagger, but I’m pleased his development has continued since that day,” says Gale, who played for Fulham in his youth and is the brother-in-law of former under-17s manager John Peacock.

“At the time, what I knew was he would be very good for Canada, knew he was a great kid and knew he had ability because he was at Chelsea and I trusted the coaches there.

“We were happy to take that leap of faith, and we hoped he would like that experience and want to continue with us, which he did to be fair.

“He still stays in touch with myself and the national team manager to this day, so that speaks volumes of him.”