Chelsea are closing in on their first signing of the summer, with the Blues apparently at the “final stages” of a free transfer for Tosin Adarabioyo according to Fabrizio Romano.
The defender is just 26 years old, turning 27 in September.
Incredibly, with Thiago Silva leaving this summer, that will make Tosin the fourth oldest player in the squad. Marcus Bettinelli is 32, Raheem Sterling is 29 and Ben Chilwell 27.
There are a few other 26 year olds, but the defender is older than all of them. To have a situation where a 26 year old is your third older outfield player is just wild. Just a couple of years ago, he probably wouldn’t have even been in the top 10.
If signed he would be the 4th oldest player in the Chelsea squad with Thiago Silva leaving.
Bettinelli 32
Sterling 29
Chilwell 27Adarabioyo 26. Turns 27 in September. 27 before Nkunku, Sanchez and Disasi.
Didn’t include players on loan (Arrizabalaga, Lukaku, Ziyech) https://t.co/f1JfQX70Sg
— CarefreeYouth (@CarefreeYouth) June 1, 2024
A mad fact for a mad squad
What does this tell us about Chelsea? Well, it tells us that the sporting directors have fully complied with their instructions to make us a very young squad built up almost entirely of under 25s.
How does that work out on the pitch? Not great, as we saw at times last year. Let’s not forget that with Silva gone, the average age plunge even further if the rest of our summer signings continue the pattern set in the last couple of years.
Tosin is going to bring a lot of Premier League experience to this squad, and compared to many of our recent signings he’s a complete veteran. We hope can be bring a bit of calmness and assuredness to an otherwise quite brittle back line.
One thing we need to put to bed is that he’s an upgrade on Trevoh Chalobah in terms of experience – Chalobah is two years younger and has played just 8 fewer senior games. When it comes to the Premier League, Adarabioyo has the lead only by virtue of his age – per year, Chalobah is the more experienced.
