Tosin Adarabioyo: 5 things to know about the Super Eagles-eligible Chelsea centre-back
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Interesting facts about Chelsea centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, including his love for pounded yam and egusi and fondness for Fela Kuti’s music and Afrobeat in general.

Tosin Adarabioyo: 5 things to know about the Super Eagles-eligible Chelsea centre-back

Seye Omidiora 10:40 - 07.06.2024

Interesting facts about Super Eagles-eligible centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, including his love for pounded yam and egusi and fondness for Fela Kuti’s music and Afrobeat in general.

Tosin Adarabioyo Background

Tosin Adarabioyo
Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo (Credit: Instagram/@tosinadarabioyo)

Tosin Adarabioyo is an English professional soccer player who plays centre-back for Chelsea. 

Adarabioyo began his youth career at Manchester City before moving to Fulham after a pair of loan spells at West Bromwich and Blackburn. 

He left Fulham as a free agent on June 30, 2024, before beginning his Chelsea spell on July 1, 2024.

Tosin Adarabioyo Profile

Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin Adarabioyo was a Fulham player for four years (Credit: Imago/Sportsphoto)

Full name: Abdul-Nasir Oluwatosin Oluwadoyinsolami “Tosin” Adarabioyo

Birth date: 24 September 1997 

Nationality: English 

Place of birth: Manchester, England 

Age: 27 years old (as of November 2024) 

Position: Defender (Centre-back)  

Current Team: Chelsea (from July 1, 2024)

Height: 6 ft 5 in (196cm)

Marital status: Single 

Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Adarabioyo

Siblings: Gbolahan and Fisayo Adarabioyo

Instagram: @tosinadarabioyo 

Twitter/X: @TosinAdarabioyo

How old is Tosin Adarabioyo? (Tosin Adarabioyo Age)

Tosin Adarabioyo is 27 years old as of November 2024.

Tosin Adarabioyo Height

Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin Adarabioyo is 1.96m tall (Credit: Instagram/@tosinadarabioyo)

Tosin Adarabioyo is a towering presence on the football pitch. He stands at 1.96 metres (6 feet 5 inches) tall.

This height gives him a significant advantage as a centre-back, allowing him to win aerial duels, dominate in set-pieces, and generally impose himself physically in defensive situations.

Tosin Adarabioyo Profile

Tosin Adarabioyo
Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo pictured in October 2024 (Credit: Imago)

Having been discovered by then Manchester City head scout Terry John, Tosin Adarabioyo became a mainstay in the youth setup and progressed through the system and even made a few starts for the first squad, notably becoming the youngest starter in the club’s Champions League history at 19 years and 73 days against Celtic in December 2016. 

Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin Adarabioyo was previously Manchester City's youngest Champions League starter (Credit: Imago/AFLOSPORT)

However, the shortage of first-team opportunities saw Adarabioyo spend time on loan at Blackburn and West Brom to get playing experience in 2018-19 and 2019-20, respectively. 

With no real pathway guaranteed at the Etihad Stadium, Adarabioyo left the club he had been at for 18 years by departing permanently to Fulham in 2020. He established himself as a consistent starter for the team and was a major factor in their 2022–2023 Premier League comeback, making 41 appearances in the 2021-22 Championship-winning season.

However, a new deal could not be agreed in the centre-back's final year, and the defender left Craven Cottage on June 30. 

Tosin Adarabioyo Career Achievements

Team

Manchester City EFL Cup: 2017–18

Fulham EFL Championship: 2021–22

Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 2021–22 Championship

EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2021–22 Championship

Tosin Adarabioyo Chelsea

Despite reports linking Tosin Adarabioyo with Manchester United and Newcastle United, news broke at the end of May 2024 that Chelsea were keen to make the centre-back Enzo Maresca's first signing as Blues head coach.

The West London club beat other English sides to the signing of the centre-back on a free transfer, announcing the deal on June 7, 2024.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the 27-year-old completed his medical on June 5, 2024, before signing a contract until 2028.

As of November 2024, Adarabioyo has played nine times for Chelsea. He has made four Premier League appearances, played four Conference League games (including the playoff round) and one EFL Cup tie.

He scored his first Chelsea goal in the West London club's 8-0 European rout against Noah on November 7, 2024.

How good is Tosin Adarabioyo? 

While some observers doubt Tosin Adarabioyo, the defender’s athleticism and aerial dominance allied with his passing ability make him sought after. 

Given modern tactics value players of his skill set, the 26-year-old should thrive under Maresca at Chelsea.

His adeptness in possession and tactical awareness means he could start regularly at centre-back in a four-player defence but assume new responsibilities when his side have good possession. 

Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin Adarabioyo is lauded for his ability on the ball (Credit: Instagram/@tosinadarabioyo)

Given that modern-day tactics favour a back three in possession, with two ahead of the reshaped defence, Adarabioyo could be the centre-back in the redesigned back three, flanked by his central defensive partner and one of the team’s full-backs. 

Adarabioyo’s passing ability and ball-carrying tendencies could open up the pitch with progressive passes or aggressive ball carries. 

Tosin Adarabioyo stats

According to Transfermarkt, Tosin Adarabioyo has played 294 career games (as of November 2024), scoring 10 times and assisting five. Of those appearances, 104 have come in the Championship, 82 have been Premier League appearances and three have come in the Champions League proper.

Strikingly, the defender has nearly 7000 minutes of Premier League experience, a positive for a young team at Stamford Bridge.

According to Fbref, Adarabioyo ranked in the top 25 for percentage of aerial duels won with 66.7% in 2023-24, a drop from 69.4% in 2022-23.  

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Tosin Adarabioyo’s injury history

While Tosin Adarabioyo missed several months after undergoing groin surgery in his last season at Fulham, the defender’s previous durability should please Chelsea supporters, who have dealt with injury-hit squads for two consecutive seasons. 

According to Transfermarkt, Adarabioyo has missed 22 games due to injury in his professional career, with 12 coming in the 2023-24 season after he underwent said surgery.

Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin Adarabioyo has typically been injury free for much of his professional career so far (Credit: Getty Images)

Tosin Adarabioyo's personal life

While photos of his father could not be obtained, Tosin Adarabioyo tends to post pictures with his mother on social media. 

The centre-back has two siblings, Gbolahan and Fisayo Adarabioyo, who are involved in football in different capacities.

Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin Adarabioyo with older brother Fisayo (tosinadarabioyo/Instagram)

Gbolahan is a licensed football agent and CEO of WNRS Sports/Closeview who manage and represent the Chelsea centre-back, while Fisayo — a former striker — retired from playing in 2021. 

Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin Adarabioyo (right) pictured with Fisayo (centre) and Gbolahan (left) in 2015 (tosinadarabioyo/Instagram)
Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin Adarabioyo and his elder brother and representative Gbolohan after the defender signed for Chelsea (Credit: Chelsea)

Tosin Adarabioyo to play for Nigeria (Tosin Adarabioyo Nigeria) 

As of November 2024, Tosin Adarabioyo has not declared his interest in playing for Nigeria’s Super Eagles. Eligible for England and the three-time African champions, the Chelsea defender reportedly wants assurances of regular playing time before committing to either.

The centre-back has represented the England youth sides at U16, U17, U18 and U19, making 14 appearances in total.

Given that he has not appeared for England’s Three Lions, a potential switch to Nigeria should not be complicated.

However, regular playing time at Stamford Bridge could lead to involvement with Gareth Southgate’s side sooner or later. 

Tosin Adarabioyo’s love for pounded yam and egusi

Despite not registering his Super Eagles interest, the centre-back revealed his appreciation for pounded yam and egusi. The yam is boiled and pounded to a thick, smooth, dough-like consistency and eaten with the thickened soup.

Tosin Adarabioyo is fond of Fela Kuti’s music

In the same interview with PICHA, Tosin Adarabioyo disclosed his liking for Fela Kuti’s music and the late singer’s Afrobeat genre. 

Tosin Adarabioyo salary

According to Capology, Tosin Adarabioyo earned a weekly salary of £40,000 at Fulham. At Chelsea, the defender is on £120,000 weekly, a significant rise from previous income. This translates to an annual salary of over £6 million.

Tosin Adarabioyo social media

The Chelsea centre-back has active Twitter and Instagram accounts, even if he posts more regularly on the latter. 

Tosin Adarabioyo has over 87,200 followers on Twitter, which rises to 346,000 on Instagram. Both numbers are expected to grow during his time at Stamford Bridge.