Tosin Adarabioyo

Adarabioyo (right) playing for Manchester City Reserves in 2017

Adarabioyo joined the youth system at Manchester City aged five.[5][6] After signing a scholarship in July, he made his U18 debut for the club aged 14 and was captaining the U18s aged 16.[6][7][8] When Adarabioyo turned 17, he signed his first professional contract with Manchester City, keeping him until 2017.[7][9]

Adarabioyo captained the U18 side to the FA Youth Cup's final, only to lose 5–2 on aggregate against Chelsea.[10] Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Adarabioyo was called up to the first team, appearing twice as an unused substitute for two UEFA Champions League matches against Juventus and Borussia Mönchengladbach.[11] On 21 February 2016, he made his first-team debut in an FA Cup match against Chelsea.[12]

Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Adarabioyo was linked a move away from Manchester City, as Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur were interested in signing him, but ended up staying at the club.[13] His performance in the pre–season matches was praised by Manager Pep Guardiola.[14] As a result, he was promoted to Manchester City's first team.[15] Adarabioyo made his Champions League debut on 24 August 2016 as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Steaua București, in a Champions League play-off round match.[16] He made two more appearances for Manchester City, coming against Swansea City and Celtic.[17] At the end of the 2016–17 season, making three appearances in all competitions, Adarabioyo signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2021.[18]

The 2017–18 season saw Adarabioyo continuing to feature in both the first team and the reserve side.[19] It wasn't until on 24 October 2017 when he made his first appearance of the season, coming against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the fourth round of the League Cup, as Manchester City won 4–1 in the penalty shootout following a 0–0 draw.[20] Adarabioyo later made three more appearances, bringing up his tally to four in the 2017–18 season.[21]

Adarabioyo joined West Bromwich Albion on loan for the 2018–19 season.[22] He made his West Bromwich Albion, starting the whole game in the right-back position, in a 1–1 draw against Nottingham Forest on 7 August 2018.[23] In the first two months at the club, however, he found himself out placed on the substitute bench.[24] Following the injury and eventual of Allan Nyom, Adarabioyo began to feature in the first team more, playing in the right-back position.[25] At times, he rotated in playing in the centre-back position.[26]

Adarabioyo then set up West Bromwich Albion's third goal of the game, in a 4–1 win against Leeds United on 10 November 2018.[27] By the start of the second half of the season, he found himself placed on the substitute bench in a number of matches for the side, due to Mason Holgate preferred in the position.[28] As a result, Adarabioyo began playing in the centre-back position, and once in the left-back position despite facing an injury along the way.[29] In the second leg of the Championship play-offs against Aston Villa, he came on as an 82nd minute substitute bench and played the rest of the season, leading to the penalty–shootout, and successfully converted the club's third penalty, as they lost 4–3.[30] At the end of the 2018–19 season, Adarabioyo made thirty–six appearances in all competitions. Following this, he returned to his parent club.[31]

In July 2019, Adarabioyo joined Blackburn Rovers on loan for the 2019–20 season.[32] He made his Blackburn debut when starting the whole game in the centre-back position in a 2–0 loss against Fulham on 10 August 2019.[33] In the first two months at the club, however, he found himself out of the starting eleven.[34] By October, Adarabioyo soon established himself in the first team and formed a centre-back partnership with Derrick Williams, Ryan Nyambe and Darragh Lenihan.[35] He scored his first career goal on 2 November in a 2–1 win for Blackburn Rovers against Sheffield Wednesday.[36] This last until he suffered an injury that kept him out for two matches.[37]

Adarabioyo returned to the starting line–up against Huddersfield Town on 29 December 2019, as the club lost 2–1.[38] His performance at Blackburn Rovers led to suggestions that Manager Guardiola would recalled him in wake of Manchester City's injury crisis, but he denied this and continue allowing the player to resume playing for the club.[39] However, his second goal for Blackburn Rovers came on 15 February 2020, in a 2–0 win against Charlton Athletic.[40] Adarabioyo continued as a first-team regular, and by the time the season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he had made 27 league appearances.[41] Adarabioyo remained an integral part of the team once the season resumed behind closed doors, and had his loan spell with the club extended until the end of the 2019–20 season.[42] He scored his third goal for the club, in a 3–1 win against Bristol City on 20 June 2020.[43] At the end of the 2019–20 season, Adarabioyo made 35 appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.

Following this, Blackburn Rovers decided against Adarabioyo on a permanent basis, which according to Tony Mowbray, he said: "Ultimately, we couldn't afford him, that's the first part of the question. This is why this loan system is really good because not in a million years could we afford Tosin Adarabioyo. We’ll wait and see, but I'm not thinking sat here that Tosin will be starting next season with us, unless Man City do us a huge favour of course, I'm not sure that will be the case."[44] Prior to returning to his parent club, he made two separate statements, thanking the club for the experience and giving him an opportunity.[45]

On 5 October 2020, Adarabioyo signed for Manchester City's Premier League rivals Fulham.[46] As part of the transfer, the Manchester Evening News reported that Manchester City will receive up to £2million for the transfer and have inserted a 20 per cent sell on fee in the deal.[47]