£25m AC Milan star makes ‘very strong’ Newcastle United claim ahead of Champions League clash

AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori has told former teammate Sandro Tonali ‘we are not friends’ when they face each other in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

Tonali returns to the San Siro just over two months after joining Newcastle United in a transfer worth £52million plus add-ons.

The Italian and Tomori were teammates for two-and-half-years when the latter joined from Chelsea but the England international will put friendships aside tomorrow night.

The 25-year-old said: “Obviously it will be nice to see him again. We played many games together. It will be nice to see him again so soon after his departure. However, we are professionals. When the game starts friendship doesn’t exist.

“We want to win, after the game, we can start being friends again. During the game, we are not friends.”

Only once before has Tomori featured against Newcastle when he featured in a 1-0 win for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October 2019.

“They [Newcastle] are a very strong team, with legs up front and physicality at the back,” Tomori said. “They like to play it deep. We know what we’re expecting from them and then we have to demonstrate our quality with and without the ball.”

Tomori is expected to return to the starting XI after missing the 5-1 defeat to city rivals Inter at the weekend due to suspension.

He added: “I’m disappointed not to have been able to help my teammates on the pitch. Watching the match on TV is tough, you can’t help the team. Tomorrow I’ll be on the pitch, I hope. We’ll try to win and start the group well.”