Chelsea’s first signing of the summer is imminent. The subject is Fulham center back Tosin Adarabioyo, 26, who has been the subject of interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.
Fabrizio Romano, an expert on the European soccer transfer market, tweeted on his personal social media account on Sunday (Feb. 2), “Chelsea will conduct a medical for Tosin Adarabioyo. According to exclusive information, the Fulham defender will leave the club and join Chelsea on a free transfer (FA).”
Adarabioyo is a key center back for Fulham. He is a 6-foot-2 center back who is good at fighting for aerial balls and has the pace to compete with opponents. His lack of aerial ability makes him a bit of a liability in the buildup, but he’s still considered one of the top center backs in the EPL.
His contract with Fulham expires at the end of this season, but he decided not to sign a new deal. Throughout the following season, he attracted interest from a number of clubs, most notably Tottenham and Newcastle. Tottenham, in particular, were keen on Adarabioyo as they were prioritizing a new center back in the summer transfer window. However, with Adarabioyo preferring Newcastle to Tottenham, it looked like the deal would go through.
However, things suddenly changed. Manchester United won the English Football Association (FA) Cup. United’s FA Cup victory over Manchester 안전놀이터 City earned them a spot in next season’s UEFA Europa League, leaving Chelsea and Newcastle in the dust.
Chelsea, who finished the season in sixth place in the league, were initially in line for a Europa League spot, but were pushed out by United and will now play in the UEFA Europa Conference. Newcastle, who finished seventh, one place below Chelsea, ended up missing out on a Europa League spot, and Adarabioyo waited until the last minute before deciding to join Chelsea.
It was a great start to the summer transfer window for Chelsea, as they landed one of the hottest center backs of the summer.
