After promising young defender Eric Garcia snubbed Man City’s offer of a new deal, one man that Pep Guardiola could turn to as a rotation option for next season is Tosin Adarabioyo – with the player impressing on loan at Blackburn Rovers over 2019/2020.
Indeed, as City gear up to sell Garcia for their desired £30 million asking price, after the 19-year-old made it perfectly clear he did not want to commit his future at Eastlands, Guardiola will be disheartened for the time being.
Who should replace Eric Garcia?
Tosin Adarabioyo
Taylor Harwood-Bellis
A new signing...
The news couldn’t have come in a more untimely fashion, as the Sky Blues prepare for our biggest game of the season to date against Real Madrid in the Champions League this evening.
Guardiola has made no secret of his admiration for the Spaniard in past interviews, worshipping his ‘very intelligent’ style of play whilst claiming he could lead the back line single handedly (Sport).
However, with Tosin, our boss may have the perfect antidote.
Why Adarabioyo?
During his stint at Ewood Park in the Championship, the 6ft 5 wonder managed 33 starts under Tony Mowbray and slowly became one of their most reliable defenders.
According to WhoScored, the youngster averaged 4.7 clearances per match in England’s second tier whilst finding teammates with 80.3% of his passes.
Of course, while there is room for debate that he was racking up these numbers in an inferior division, Tosin has debatably proved that he could, at the very least, be considered for more game time at the Etihad.
What the critics say…
While there has been little in terms of punditry analysis surrounding Tosin’s performances, Rovers boss Mowbray has waxed lyrical over the 22-year-old’s displays – at one point calling him ‘magnificent’.
“Tosin scored a goal and he was magnificent,” Mowbray explained after Rovers’ 2-2 Sheffield Wednesday draw to their official website.
“We’ve struggled against teams who play direct football against us and today I told him he had to stand up and be counted and be the man who heads the ball.
“It’s underestimated how important heading the ball back over the halfway line from goal-kicks is and that’s what he did for us today and scored as well.
“So I’m delighted with him.”
The final verdict…
Standing at an imposing 6ft 5 and being fairly adept at playing out from the back, Tosin could prove capable to fill Garcia’s role in the squad – but only time will tell whether Guardiola takes the chance.