Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal to sign Tosin Adarabioyo on a permanent basis from Chelsea.
Personal terms have been agreed with the defender and he has been granted permission to undergo a medical.
The centre-back would be Tottenham’s ninth signing of the summer, with Spurs also making an enquiry for Tosin’s Chelsea team-mate Mykhailo Mudryk. A loan deal has been agreed for the Ukrainian but terms still need to be finalised with the forward.
A deal would represent the first time since 2009 that a first team player has moved directly in a transfer between the two clubs.
Tottenham’s move for Tosin comes after centre-back Kevin Danso expressed a desire to find a move away according to head coach Roberto De Zerbi, with Richarlison and Pape Matar Sarr also asking to leave.
The Athletic reported earlier this month that Tosin, 28, was lined up to be sold to a club in England or abroad. The former Fulham defender has not been included in any of Xabi Alonso’s first three matchday squads.
As of the beginning of August, Chelsea had 10 centre backs on their books, following the £30million departure of Trevoh Chalobah to Como. Benoit Badiashile has since departed to Napoli on loan with an option to buy, while Mamadou Sarr and Axel Disasi have joined Real Sociedad and Crystal Palace on loan respectively.
Tosin started eight Premier League matches for Chelsea last season, with four of those coming in the opening month of the campaign. He initially lost his place in the starting line-up as a result of a calf injury, and struggled to nail down a regular spot thereafter.
The defender had played more regularly in the previous campaign, and featured in 10 of Chelsea’s 13 Conference League matches en route to lifting the trophy.
Tosin signed a four-year deal at Stamford Bridge upon joining the club on a free transfer from Fulham in June 2024. Newcastle had been tracking him and were hopeful of completing a move before he joined Chelsea, while West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur had bids rejected for the defender in the summer of 2023.
He came through Manchester City’s academy and made eight first-team appearances, three of which in the Champions League.