- Adarabioyo joined Chelsea as a free agent in the summer after leaving Fulham
- The defender has already been viewed as a leader in the Chelsea dressing room
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Enzo Maresca is expected to turn to one of Chelsea’s bargain successes in an effort to blunt Liverpool’s attack on Sunday.
Amid the £1billion plus that Chelsea have spent on new arrivals, Tosin Adarabioyo is already proving his worth to the club after joining as a free agent in the summer following his departure from Fulham.
The 27-year-old, who had been followed by Liverpool, even rejected a last-ditch offer from Manchester United to commit to Chelsea and with it the gamble of finding a regular space in their over crowded squad.
Maresca knew and trusted the centre-back from their time together at Manchester City and is prepared to throw him in alongside Levi Colwill to face Arne Slot’s frontline at Anfield today with Wesley Fofana out through suspension.
‘I’m very impressed with him, since I knew him at City, especially with the way he behaves on and off the pitch,’ said Maresca. ‘He is one of the leaders in the dressing room, and we’re delighted.’
Tosin Adarabioyo joined Chelsea in the summer on a free transfer after leaving Fulham
Maresca is delighted with his impact with the defender seen as a leader in the dressing room
Chelsea have not conceded a single goal while Adarabioyo has been on the pitch in the league
Statistics play a big part in the thinking at Stamford Bridge and remarkably, although his Premier League appearances have been limited, Chelsea have not conceded a single goal while Tosin has been on the pitch in the league.
He has the highest passing accuracy, 91 per cent, among Chelsea’s defenders, a quality Maresca values highly, and, without tempting fate, has not been dribbled past once in the Premier League or Europa Conference League where he has played every minute.
Maresca will be hoping the 6ft 5in defender he regards as a leader can maintain those standards again on Sunday as they look to continue their improvement.
‘I think everyone knows our squad is phenomenal,’ said Tosin. ‘You can take any player, you can swap any player in or out and it’s still going to be a high level.
‘Every player aims for the top, every player aims for the best, so we’ve just got to keep on striving, putting the performance in every single weekend and see where it takes us.’
