I'm surprised by how few people seem to have considered this. I've not seen enough of Tomori at Chelsea to say but he's definitely been higher rated than Holgate coming through. He's played more for all England age groups I think, and has got a senior cap and other call ups despite being younger than Holgate. He's also got CL experience. I would be surprised if he was happy to play second fiddle to somebody of Holgate's stature.
I'm a big fan of Holgate. I was even a big fan of him the season before, when he was getting good experience on loan. I think he has a good mental aptitude, likes playing for the club, gives his all, has improved as a player etc. He reminds of the sort of player we built a core around under Moyes. A team of Holgate's would be no bad thing in the short term.
As 23 he can still get better, or rather get more consistent and cut some mistakes out. He's quick and good on the ball, but is still a bit error prone.
However, like most fans we do have a tendency to overrate our players. There were siilar discussions when Zouma came and went on to be our best centre half. We got 48 points last season. Chelsea having had a disappointing season got 66. We are nearer to the bottom 3 than Chelsea on a point total, and I underline it was a dissapointing return for them.
There are cavaets, I haven't seen the figures but I'd imagine Holgates PPG was probably quite good for us, as he missed a lot of the Silva run and the poor end. Some of that was down to Holgate.
It's also not even what Tomori wants thats important here, but how Brands sees him and how Ancelotti will view it. Every player will want to be first choice. I think Brands will probably see him as a comparable option to Gabriel (as they seem similar types of all round defenders to me) and he may well catch Ancleotti's eye.
We've also seen it with the likes of Gareth Barry as well, who people thought would sit on the bench here. The harsh truth, is if you play for a top 4-5 team, their bench fodder are better than our first teamers. There is an obvious issue of mentality, and where that is not right that then becomes an issue, but if they are focussed it's a big plus. At 22 this is also not a Fabian Delph/Walcott who's at the end of his career. He's had 1 England cap and I would imagine he wants a few more.
So it's a big yes for me. He could even partner Holgate if needs be. But you know if he and Keane/Mina develop a great partnership thats good for us, because it means Holgate is on the bench, doing extra trying to improve and fight his way into the team. Thats how elite teams work as well. You know if you don't perform you are out. We've missed that.
