Tosin Adarabioyo has not been short of suitors this summer. When it became clear that he would not be renewing his contract with Fulham, interest arose throughout Europe.
For a while, Newcastle United seemed to be in pole position. They had a long-standing interest in Tosin, which stretched back to Fulham’s crusade to win the championship in 2021-2022. He was noted as a wonderful home option, with Eddie Howe willing to backline. They made an offer and the negotiations progressed well. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, who speak on condition of anonymity like all those consulted for this article to protect relations, he appreciated the project.
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Manchester United are also said to have made a delayed offer for the players’ field, however, Tosin’s decision was already made to sign for another west London club: the defender signed for Fulham’s rivals Chelsea on Friday.
It took time for Chelsea to get their boy back. The club showed interest from the beginning, but at first they were not very confident that anything would come out of it. While they were distracted looking for a new head coach after Mauricio Pochettino left after the end of the season, the deal was considered “dead” within the club. This is still the case at the beginning of last week. However, his pessimism was misplaced.
During the final year of his contract with Fulham, the 26-year-old Tosin had kept his duties open and in the end, Chelsea’s offer proved convincing. Tosin was offered European football and the opportunity to stay in London. where he spent the last 4 years at Fulham.
Negotiations intensified once Enzo Maresca, Pep Guardiola’s former assistant and former Manchester City Under-23 manager, was selected to upgrade Pochettino. Although it was still a week before the appointment was officially announced, it gave Chelsea a more potent pitch.
The new coach at Chelsea added to an appealing picture for the former City academy graduate Tosin. He and Maresca crossed paths only briefly at City; Maresca was appointed as the elite development squad coach in August 2020, just as Tosin was preparing to leave the club in October. Joe Shields, who worked with Tosin at City’s academy in his younger years, was another City link.
Tosin’s references with the ball made him the best candidate. Maresca, who has been consulted about the signing, needs to expand from the back and that taste is based on defenders who are comfortable with possession.
For Tosin, the step means moving up the ladder, 4 years after leaving Manchester City. According to those familiar with the negotiations, it is the right time for him to return to the most sensible club. He has never shied away from his ambitions to play at the highest level. “My goal is not just to get to the Premier League, it’s to play at the highest level, compete for trophies, play football in the Champions League,” he told The Athletic. in 2021.
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Tosin’s move to Fulham in October 2020 was aimed at getting his progress back on track. That ended an 18-year deal with City, which began when he was five years old after watching a tournament for an senior organisation at Whalley Range High School. “Tosin One day I went in and out through the fence, looked for it and asked, ‘Can I play?'” Terry John, who first signed Tosin for City and worked with him in his early years, told The Athletic. in 2020. ” So we got worried and that’s how it all started. “
Tosin’s self-confidence has helped navigate City’s youth levels. He has two older brothers, Gbolahan (six years older) and Fisayo (three years older), and he confronts them. “I was playing football with my friends who were even older than me, where I didn’t have the chance to touch the ball,” Gbolahan said in 2020. “But he got used to the challenge. “
He was tall and played in higher age groups. At 14, he was 185 cm tall and played for City’s U-18 team. At 16, he began his first-team training, where he played 11 sessions against 11 sessions against Carlos Tevez and Vincent Kompany. “It’s just another game for me,” Tosin told The Athletic. “I’m doing everything I can to impress Roberto Mancini. “
That effort would be getting into the first team, as City have spent £1 billion on defenders since their first educational consultation with the seniors. Ironically, he made his debut at Stamford Bridge, in February 2016, at the age of 18.
After playing 3 games for the club in the 2016–17 season, adding two in the Champions League, he signed a contract extension, but opportunities were limited. He made 4 more appearances in 12 months, then went on loan, first to West Bromwich. Albion and then Tony Mowbray of Blackburn Rovers. There he focused on the defensive facets of his game.
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“The explanation why we recruited him was because of his attributes. He’s 6-foot-5, he’s very, very fast, his distribution is as smart as any center back in the division,” Mowbray told The Athletic in 2020. You only had to review the year to see it and make him aware of his defensive role. The team was the most important aspect of his game.
“He grew up directing the ball out of the box and handling the first ball in the middle, the facet of the defender’s role, rather than the aesthetics. “
GOING FURTHER
Tosin – The advantageous acquisition of Fulham, which “has grown in its structure and in the Premier League”
City are reportedly in talks with Mowbray and Blackburn about the option of moving his feet and adjusting his position and body shape temporarily, and their determination to be informed temporarily has led to Mowbray becoming a Premier League footballer.
“I had a verbal exchange with him at the end of the season and he appreciated the aspects we tried to bring to him,” he said. “I had to be a finisher first and only aesthetically with the ball, going through the lines. “
Tosin has put in strong performances and had hoped to be retired in January 2020 as City suffered an injury crisis at centre-back, with Fernandinho replacing after Aymeric Laporte suffered a knee injury. But that didn’t happen, a move that made Tosin realise it was time to leave City. He turned down a new contract that month, then joined Fulham at the deadline in October 2020, for £1. 5m, and reached £2m with add-ons.
This would prove to be an exceptional price for Fulham, with 132 appearances. In his first season under Scott Parker, the club was relegated, but Tosin proved to be a notable player. With Marco Silva, he is an integral component of the team’s success. “The way he can protect the box, but also with the ball, he’s a special player, the way I need to play, the way he can build (from the back),” Silva said last year.
Silva likes his centre-backs to start the team’s offensive preparation and Tosin’s ability to move forward from defence and play and lend a hand has made him important. This is especially noticeable in Fulham’s championship-winning season, where they took a City-style approach.
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The knowledge covering the past two seasons reflects this as well. We can visualize Tosin’s numbers on a Smarterscout pizza chart, which uses complex analysis to break down elements of a footballer’s game into other measures of performance, skill, and style, and weights those values. opposite to their positional pairs.
In the 2022–23 season, Tosin qualified for progressive passing (the green peak below).
And in 2023-24, his volume of use and dribbling (another green peak below) took over, likely as a result of how Fulham’s pre-season play adjusted after the departure of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
If his qualities with the ball at his feet were part of his as a footballer, his defensive qualities have improved.
His length allowed him to compete well in both frames, especially on set pieces. This is reflected in his aerial win percentage of 67. 1.
Chelsea have liked this aerial ability a lot, according to club sources. The team does not have many players capable of guaranteeing an excellent presence in the box. This is one of the reasons why former coach Pochettino decided on Levi Colwill at left-back, although he is recognised as one of the most productive young centre-backs in England.
Tosin’s familiarity with a top-tier defensive line – from his time at City and more recently with Silva – has also been appealing.
Tosin’s last crusade at Fulham began with a groin injury that required surgery, however, he has reached some of his most productive degrees of form as he returns to form over the winter. Your loss will be felt on the field, even if enthusiasts won’t. We appreciate that he joins his local rivals.
He formed a partnership with Tim Ream at Fulham and then Calvin Bassey, Ream’s long-term replacement.
Tosin’s departure is scheduled. Talks broke down last summer after he turned down a new deal and, in the face of interest from West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, referred to two offers from Monaco, worth around 7 million euros ($5. 9 million; $7. 6 million) plus additions. then 10 million euros. These were rejected, as Fulham may simply not find a replacement.
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Silva wanted to retain him and while he was fit, the club resumed negotiations this season, but rejected his new proposal and informed the club that he would not renew in April. Sources familiar with the negotiations say his departure was not due to a preference for a bigger offer, but a sense that the time had come to take the next step at a bigger club.
Tosin has shown in his career that he is not afraid to help himself and that he needs to compete at the highest level. On the overseas stage, he has represented England from the Under-16s to the Under-19s and is eligible for Nigeria, but said he is aimed at club football.
Tosin will be the oldest player to sign for Chelsea in two years, when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, then 33, arrives from Barcelona. Since the January 2023 move-in window, they have recruited older players aged 25 and younger. Tosin will be 27 in September. With the departure of Thiago Silva, there will be room to make a good impression as Chelsea look to build on last season’s strong finish and embark on a new era under Maresca.
GOING FURTHER
Why Tosin Adarabioyo arrived at Fulham from Manchester City
(Top photo: Paul Ellis/AFP Getty Images)