Adarabioyo: Man United was never my option

In his first interview since the defender’s pending arrival was confirmed, Tosin Adarabioyo gives Blues fans a flavour of what to expect, his footballing journey and his relentless desire to win.

Having been taken on a tour of Chelsea’s state-of-the-art training ground following the completion of his medical, centre-back Tosin is clearly beaming at the prospect of what lies ahead.

The 26-year-old has enjoyed a fruitful career so far and despite not yet donning the famous Blue shirt of Chelsea, the club is intertwined with his footballing story.

Born at St. Mary’s Hospital just three miles away from Stamford Bridge, Tosin described this moment as his life coming ‘full circle’ as he sits surrounded by the echoes of epic victories and the promise of much more to come.

Tosin opened: ‘Growing up, Chelsea has always been a club that have performed well and one that have had great players and teams to watch. Chelsea have won big trophies and long may it continue.

‘I’m here to win. I want to win. It’s as simple as that really. I just want to keep working and pushing the team and the club in the direction we want to go in. I’m excited to get going.’

Moving to Manchester at a young age, Tosin joined Manchester City at the age of five, captaining their youth sides throughout his journey up the ranks, while also meeting the Blues on several occasions, including in back-to-back FA Youth Cup finals at Stamford Bridge.

More recently, Tosin made his professional debut in 2016 against Chelsea during an FA Cup quarter-final clash at the Bridge and, although he was on the losing side, the towering centre-half was praised for his performance.

‘If you can’t beat them, join them!’ Tosin laughed. ‘‘Chelsea have always had a best-in-class reputation, so I know what this club is all about.

‘I came up against a full-strength Chelsea squad that day – it was amazing! A tough game but to make my debut against the likes of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian was a great experience.

‘‘I played quite well and was named Man City’s player of the match which was nice.’

It was during this time at the Etihad that he met current Blues players Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling, and also trained alongside new Chelsea coach with Willy Caballero.

‘I spent two or three years with Raz and Willy, and I spent most of my youth journey with Cole,’ he explained.

‘Before confirming the move, I gave Raz and Cole a call and they had nothing but positive things to say about the club and the project, and how excited they were that I was coming to the club.

‘Cole is younger than me but I remember him from younger days alongside a few of the other boys that I’ve met along the way like Ben Chilwell – Chilly and I were both captains in the FA Youth Cup semi-finals. I also know Trevoh Chalobah and Armando Broja because he spent time at Fulham.’

Since then, Tosin has established himself as a reliable, commanding and composed defender across two loan spells at West Brom and Blackburn Rovers, and then at our West London neighbours Fulham.

‘I’ve developed leaps and bounds,’ he continued. ‘I’ve become a man and established myself as a top Premier League centre-half. That’s why I’ve joined Chelsea.

‘Being a leader comes to me naturally. It’s something that is required of a centre-half. It’s an important responsibility. I want to come here and push the boys on as much as we can.’

Looking to the future, Tosin is eager to finally play at the Bridge as part of the home side and is relishing the chance to work under the tutelage of new head coach Enzo Maresca.

‘I’m looking forward to starting work with Enzo and I’m sure the boys are too,’ he added.

‘It’s going to be exciting. We’re going to play good football and win a lot of games. There are top players in this squad and I’m eager to play with them all.’