Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo has provided supporters with an insight into how his summer has progressed since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, which was announced nearly a month ago.
The 26-year-old joined the Blues on a free transfer from local rivals Fulham on a four-year deal, which will see him at the club until at least 2028, becoming the first signing in the Enzo Maresca era. The move for the star was largely seen as a quick attempt to fill the void left by Thiago Silva’s departure in May following a stellar four-year stint with Chelsea in which he was influential across the defensive line.
The Brazilian’s leadership qualities are hard to replicate, but they’re an intangible that Adarabioyo immediately recognised as vital when he first spoke about joining the Blues. He claimed: “It [leadership] is something that is required of a centre-half. It is an important responsibility. I want to come here and push the boys on as much as we can.
“I’m looking forward to starting work with Enzo [Maresca], and I’m sure the boys are too,” he continued. “It’s going to be exciting. We’re going to play good football and win a lot of games. There are top players in this squad, and I’m eager to play with them all.”
Since then, they’ve added one of Maresca’s most important pieces in his Championship-winning season with Leicester City in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian, and youngsters Marc Guiu from Barcelona and Omari Kellyman from Aston Villa to the squad in what looks to be a continuation of Todd Boehly’s youthful project that has captured the transfer market over the previous few years.
There could still be many more new arrivals, but also quite a few departures from Stamford Bridge this summer, with Adarabioyo’s potential centre-back partner Trevoh Chalobah said to be on the chopping block despite his impressive end to the 2024/25 campaign under Mauricio Pochettino.
Stars like Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi and Wesley Fofana are also among the ranks in the position and will be hoping for a far more consistent season than the one they all enjoyed last time, with a £50m move for Nottingham Forest centre-back Murillo said to be high on the shortlist for this summer’s window.
But amidst the rumour mill, Adarabioyo appears to have kept his head down, blocking out the noise, and now he has shared what he’s been doing in order to prepare for his first pre-season at Stamford Bridge.
Taking to social media, he shared a whole host of photos of what appears to be him in a training camp in Quinta do Lago, a resort in the Algarve region of Portugal, starting last week, with photos of him kicking a ball around, doing strides, working out in the gym, and enjoying a swim ahead of his official arrival at the start of this week.
The first time Adarabioyo could take to the pitch as a Chelsea player will be during the club’s tour of the U.S which kicks-off against Wrexham on Wednesday, July 24.
