Tosin Adarabioyo

Manchester City

Early life and career

Born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, to Nigerian parents of Yoruba origin, but raised in Manchester, Adarabioyo grew up in Whalley Range and attended Chorlton High School and St Bede's College. His football career started at the age of five when he joined the youth system at Manchester City after he was spotted by the club's head of recruitment, Terry John, at a local five-a-side tournament. He briefly trained with cross-town rivals Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers but elected to remain with City, where he rapidly progressed through the youth ranks during his formative years. When he was 14 years old, he broke into the U18 team and was captaining the side less than two years later, when he also began training with the first team, and wore the armband in City's 5–2 aggregate defeat to Chelsea in the 2014–15 FA Youth Cup final.

His form at youth level saw him called-up to the first team during the 2015–16 campaign and he appeared as an unused substitute for the first time for two UEFA Champions League matches against Juventus and Borussia Mönchengladbach. Adarabioyo's senior debut followed on 21 February 2016 when was named in a young starting XI by Manuel Pellegrini for City's FA Cup match against Chelsea, and he was lauded for a strong performance in marking opposition striker Diego Costa despite his side suffering a 5–1 defeat. Ahead of the 2016–17 season, and following the appointment of Pep…

Adarabioyo is a former England youth international and represented his country of birth on 14 occasions across the various age-group levels. He made his first appearance in national team colours in November 2012 at the age of 15 when he was called-up to the England under-16 squad for the first time, making his debut as a 41st-minute substitute against Scotland as England went on to claim a 12th consecutive Victory Shield triumph. In August of the following year, Adarabioyo was called up to the England under-17 for the first time and made his debut in a 3–1 defeat to Portugal later that month. He then established himself as a squad player within the England under-18 team and made his first appearance on the day of his 17th birthday when he featured as a substitute in a 2–0 loss against Italy. In November 2015, Adarabioyo was called up to the England under-19 squad for the first time. After appearing as an unused substitute against the Netherlands, he made his England under-19 debut against Japan on 15 November 2015, starting the whole game, as the under-19 side won 5–1. Despite featuring frequently at youth level for England, Adarabioyo is yet to make his senior debut for the national team and remains eligible to represent Nigeria through descent. He was previously reported to have turned down an approach by the Nigeria Football Federation to represent the Super Eagles but opened the door to a potential call-up in 2020 when he expressed his desires of playing at the 2022 FIFA…

Adarabioyo is an athletic ball-playing centre-back who was previously described as being "fast, strong in the air and [possessing] the quality to look forward behind the line for the next pass" by his former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Standing at 6 ft 5 in, his height and physical presence have seen him emerge as a dominant defender who is adept at winning aerial duals and effecting headed clearances, while simultaneously posing as a goal threat from set-pieces in the opposition box. During the 2020–21 Premier League season, which was his first full campaign in England's top flight, Adarabioyo recorded more clearances than any other player in the division. He has also earned recognition as a player who is strong in the tackle and capable with the ball at his feet, suitable to a possession-based style of play, and boasts good positional awareness and reading of the game in defensive situations.

Adarabioyo was born in London, England to Nigerian parents and is the youngest of three brothers. His oldest brother, Gbolahan, serves as his representative while middle brother Fisayo Adarabioyo is also a footballer. All three brothers were part of Manchester City's youth ranks. After his family moved to Whalley Range when he was still an infant, Adarabioyo was schooled in Manchester and attended Chorlton High School before enrolling with St Bede's College, a college associated with Manchester City. In December 2018, during the early years of his playing career, Adarabioyo's name was mentioned by teammate Raheem Sterling after he alleged that sections of the media served to "fuel racism" with their portrayal of young black footballers. The comments emerged after Sterling was subjected to alleged racist abuse during City's 2–0 defeat at Chelsea. Sterling wrote: "you have two young players starting out their careers, both play for the same team, both have done the right thing. Which is buy a new house for their mothers who have put in a lot of time and love into helping them get where they are, but look how the newspapers get their message across for the young black player and then for the young white player." The Daily Mail headlines had been "Young Manchester City footballer, 20, on £25,000 a week splashes out on mansion on market for £2.25 million despite having never started a Premier League match" and "Manchester City starlet Phil Foden buys new £2m home for his mum."…