Retour
It’s been almost two months since he left Chelsea, but finally, Tosin Adarabioyo started his first Premier League game for Tottenham on Monday night as Spurs faced Frank Lampard’s Coventry City.
Spurs went into the game winless in the Premier League, and Roberto De Zerbi decided to shake up his back line ahead of their Saturday evening clash with Chelsea. Finally, they got their elusive league win.
Had Dominic Calvert-Lewin in his back pocket 💪
But Coventry made Spurs work for it. James Maddison’s opener against his old club was cancelled out by Jack Rudoni, before Omar Marmoush and Ben Davies scored in the last 30 minutes to secure a 3-1 win.
Before Monday night’s game, Tosin had only made two appearances following his £12m move to Spurs. Mykhailo Mudryk also joined Spurs from Chelsea on loan with a £75m option, but the winger is injured.
The former Fulham defender was thrown into the Spurs side for his first Premier League start of 2026-27. He lasted 70 minutes and impressed Spurs fans on the night, as the North Londoners got their first win.
Marmoush, Tonali and Tosin world class
— Sam (@samgardiner29) October 19, 2026
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Spurs fans have been frustrated by the performances of Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi since they arrived at the club from Brighton and Bournemouth. The display of Tosin, then, was a sight for sore eyes.
“Lowkey super impressed with him, looks top”, “very solid”, “better defender than JPVH”, were verdicts posted by Spurs fans on X after the match. One even claimed: “He’s becoming our best centre-back”.
Tosin is proving himself to be a very tidy backup/rotation option. Executes the basics well and never seems to lose an aerial duel – which has been a massive weakness in the Spurs backline. Fingers crossed his knock isn’t anything too big. #thfc https://t.co/U2irzgT1sA
— Kyle Freegard (@KyleFreegard) October 19, 2026
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The praise continued to come in. One said: “Tosin was brilliant: I like how he’s a new boy, but he was in control of the defence.” Another said he’s changed his mind: “I might have to take back my Tosin slander.”
Typically, just as Tosin comes into the Spurs side, the North Londoners travel across the capital to take on Chelsea. So, in what would only be his fourth outing for Spurs, could Tosin come up against Chelsea?
Well, the former Fulham and Man City defender looked as though he had picked up an injury when he came off last night. De Zerbi said: “No, no, no, I think there are no injuries, nothing important.”
But Tosin did have to be assessed when he came off, with what looked like a lower-leg injury; either a knock to his ankle or a calf issue. Andy Robertson and Omar Marmoush also picked up knocks.
Chelsea, meanwhile, will be without Emi Martinez after he had a jaw operation, while Reece James has undergone knee surgery. Malo Gusto and Pep Chavarria are doubts after missing the win at Everton.