The addition of Tosin Adarabioyo by Chelsea this summer was a no-brainer, at least financially.
He was available on a free when his contract at Fulham ran out, and Chelsea were able to slot in a really experienced 27 year old to join their youthful group. It’s not just a question of his big pile of Premier League appearances compared to his new teammates however – it’s as much about his personality as anything.
We’ve noted before that in the behind the scenes videos the club released you can sense his presence on the training pitch, not something that’s really common from a player who is far from a first team regular (in fact he’s 4th or 5th in the central defender rankings right now).
But Tosin arrived at Chelsea knowing his role would be as much about what he does off the pitch as on it, and he’s embraced that:
“It’s an amazing responsibility to come into the club and lead the boys,” Tosin explained in his press conference yesterday.
Tosin claims he’s a natural leader
He then went on to acknowledge that his personality was one of a leader, regardless of his age and experience compared to his teammates:
“It is something I have always done no matter the age or what club I’ve been at. My leadership qualities are one of my strengths and to come here and do the same for this young group of boys is an honour really.
“We’ve got a very young squad and as you can see we are pushing and here to compete with everyone in the league. We don’t really look at our age, we go out there and believe that we can go get those performances.”
Tonight he leads out a rag-team of squad players against Heidenheim – whether that’s as official captain or not, it’s just reward for his hard work behind the scenes.