Tosin Adarabioyo is set for a reunion with his former boss Marco Silva when Chelsea take on Fulham this Saturday.
Adarabioyo played under Silva during his time at Craven Cottage and did very well there, helping him to secure a move to Chelsea last summer.
However, it was not always plain sailing for the defender, who once had to be dropped by his manager.
Adarabioyo was another injury concern for Chelsea this season following Levi Colwill’s ACL surgery, missing the team’s opener against Crystal Palace. But Adarabioyo trained after the Palace draw and was able to make an appearance in the 5-1 victory over West Ham United last Friday.
Fulham manager Marco Silva applauds the fans
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Marco Silva was ‘unhappy’ with Fulham and Tosin Adarabioyo’s form
Back in the 2022/23 Premier League season, Fulham conceded 20 goals in their first 10 games.
Going into their 10th fixture, Silva felt that he had to change something, resulting in the Portuguese dropping Adarabioyo. In his eyes, the centre-half was not in a good moment.
“It was a difficult decision and one that we made and Tosin knows why,” Silva was quoted as saying by West London Sport.
“We have a squad and not just two central defenders and we decided to change something because we had to improve as we were not happy with two games before and Issa [Diop] and Shane Duffy have been working so hard to get a chance.
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“Some players have good moments and sometimes they are not in such good form and that is why we decided to change.”
Fast forward to now, and he is probably Enzo Maresca‘s first-choice centre-back following Colwill’s injury.
While Maresca is a huge fan of Wesley Fofana and would probably name him ahead of Adarabioyo, the Frenchman cannot stay fit.
He was named on the bench for Chelsea’s first two games this season following his own injury problems.
Tosin Adarabioyo during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Arsenal FC
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Why Tosin Adarabioyo could become undroppable at Chelsea this season
When Chelsea welcome Fulham to Stamford Bridge this Saturday, you would expect Adarabioyo to be named in the Blues’ starting XI whether Fofana is ready to play 90 minutes or not.
For Maresca, Adarabioyo is the only central defender at Chelsea who can build from the middle of defence in the same manner as Colwill.
“When we build, we build with Levi in the middle,” the Chelsea head coach told BBC Sport and other outlets in a press conference earlier this month. “Last year we played 64 games and we played all 64 games with either Levi or Tosin [in the middle].
“Now Levi is out. The only other one that can do that job well is Tosin.”
Unless Chelsea sign a new centre-half who can carry out Colwill’s duty, Adarabioyo will be practically undroppable.