Tosin Adarabioyo is going to leave Fulham at the end of this season and Newcastle United seems to have jumped over Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign the defender.
According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle United have held talks with the player’s representatives in the past week and Tosin is said to be eager to play under Eddie Howe next campaign.
The defender is going to be a free agent in the summer and despite Fulham’s desire, Tosin Adarabioyo has refused to sign a new deal with the club because he feels he is ready to take the next major in his career. The 26-year-old has had successful loan spells with Blackburn and West Brom and then he joined Fulham on a permanent move from Man City in 2020 where he has played close to 150 games for the club.
Can Chelsea and Spurs afford to lose Tosin Adarabioyo?
Clearly, Tosin Adarabioyo sees more value in joining Newcastle United next season because, at St James’ Park, the defender will have the least competition and will get a lot more game time.
And while Chelsea and Spurs do need defensive reinforcements for the 24/25 season, Tosin is not on their priority list. The Blues need a direct replacement for the outgoing Thiago Silva while Ange needs to add competition for Romero and Van de Ven but neither of them need to lose sleep over losing someone like Tosin Adarabioyo.
Tosin has missed 12 games this season due to injuries but apart from that, the centre-back has been a regular starter for Fulham and the last thing he will want is to join a team where he is pushed down the pecking order. European football will not be at the top of his agenda but if Newcastle United can qualify for the Europa League next campaign then it will be an added bonus.
This season, he has clocked up 18 league starts for the Cottagers and his defensive record is pretty solid for playing in a team who are 14th on the table.
Both the London sides want to sign the Fulham man as a squad player which is why he has probably chosen to join Newcastle United, a club where he will be much more wanted. Having said that, Chelsea and even Spurs will try to derail Newcastle’s move in the coming months because Tosin Adarabioyo is not going to cost a dime so there’s no harm to try and bring him on board.
