Chelsea Outcast Tosin Adarabioyo Joins London Rivals

The mass exodus of Chelsea fringe players continued during deadline day, as Tosin Adarabioyo will reinforce Tottenham Hotspur’s backline.

Personal matters have been agreed since last week, and a deal between clubs has been struck that will see Tosin join Tottenham for a fee worth $9.5 million (£7 million). The center back will leave Stamford Bridge two years after he joined Chelsea on a free transfer from Fulham.

Roberto De Zerbi was keen on reinforcing his backline following Kevin Danso’s departure and in the aftermath of conceding five goals in their two concerning defeats to start the Premier League season.

Chelsea were looking to offload Tosin to make room in their crowded center back depth chart. Keen on facilitating his exit, Spurs came knocking and the first permanent sale between the pair of London rivals since 2009 materialized.

“I'm in an important part of my career and speaking to the head coach and knowing the type of football he wants to play, I think it's a very good fit,” Tosin said in the club’s announcement. “He wants the team to play with courage and that's something that I always look to do.

“I want to achieve the absolute best, to push this team and this club as much as possible to where we deserve to be. That's something that has to be done every single day, especially on the training pitch, and I will be bringing that mentality to the club.”

Tosin Was Expendable At Chelsea, Spurs Needed Depth

Tosin Adarabioyo — Tosin’s minutes would’ve been scarce under Xabi Alonso. | Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

The 28-year-old was the elder statesman in an otherwise extremely young side ever since he joined Chelsea two years ago. He featured regularly during Enzo Maresca’s tenure but never fully asserted himself in the middle of Chelsea’s backline, as inopportune mistakes, lapses in judgment and a limited talent ceiling came into question regularly.

He managed just 16 Premier League appearances a season ago, as he notably fell down the pecking order, and a poor preseason under Xabi Alonso made him expendable, especially when Chelsea’s squad won’t be further taxed by the strain of a European competition this term.

Alonso didn’t even include the Englishman in Chelsea’s squad for the opening three games of the term, not even when he deployed a three-center back system in the first two league games of his tenure. Tosin’s path to playing time appeared to be non-existent.

Along came Tottenham to offer him an escape route. Spurs have seen center backs Cristian Romero, Luka Vušković, Radu Drăgușin and now Danso leave the club this summer, and although Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke arrived as reinforcements, it quickly became clear that Spurs were thin at the position, especially with the untimely departure of the Austria international.

De Zerbi wanted a center back with Premier League experience, and Tosin offers exactly that, with more than 200 English top-flight games on his resumé.

On the final day of the summer transfer window, the two rivaling London clubs struck a deal that aligned with their respective needs.

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