Chelsea confirm signing of Manchester United target Tosin Adarabioyo as a free agent
Manchester United have been overtaken by Tosin Adarabioyo‘s signing as a free agent by Chelsea, who have confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old central defender, Sky Sports has reported.
Besides the Red Devils and the Blues, Newcastle United were also monitoring him before he decided to opt for a transfer within west London, just miles across his ex-employer Fulham’s Craven Cottage.
Adarabioyo was one of the hot targets for United and would have been a fantastic free addition, especially after the departure of Raphael Varane at the end of this season.
Fulham themselves made a few attempts to extend Adarabioyo’s contract, but they were not enough as he preferred making a move to one of the Premier League’s bigger clubs.
Marco Silva lauded the Englishman in December, calling him a “special player”. The manager said the below, as per The Irish News:
“He is a key player for us. He is one of the leaders in our dressing room and we need these guys to step in in the right moments and he did it. We missed him a lot, we missed him because he didn’t play the first three months of the season. Tosin is a special player for us, I can’t hide that situation.The way he can defend the box but also on the ball he is a special player for me, the way I want to play, the way he can build (from the back).”
As described by Silva, Adarabioyo is a brilliant player of the ball, an attribute that no United defender currently possesses but is vital to Erik ten Hag’s system.
Having graduated from Manchester City’s academy, it would not have come as a surprise if he rejected the Red Devils, but the 26-year-old is a huge miss for them nevertheless.
He is a modern-day central defender and would have been a priceless free signing for the Red Devils, considering that they have lined up other revamps as well.
Despite INEOS’ injection of funds into the club, they are expected to have a strict transfer budget and will now be forced to spend a part of it on acquiring a much-needed centre-back.
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The first step in acquiring quality players would first be to clarify the manager’s situation, with Manchester United’s decision on Ten Hag’s future still overdue.
