Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a fine transfer window thus far, but there is still more to be done if Ange Postecoglou is to truly enjoy a seamless start to life in north London.

Is Tosin Adarabioyo leaving Fulham?

With Micky van de Ven one of the latest to join this revolution, it feels like many areas of the pitch have been bolstered well enough to suggest an improvement on last season is in the offing.

However, it will likely be a while until the squad properly embraces his culture and unusual methods, which have admittedly brought success wherever he has gone.

Now, the 57-year-old could turn his attention towards bringing in another defender, with Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo a name that remains a fine option that has been touted in recent months.

With just one year left on his deal too, and having made his desire to depart Craven Cottage known, the reported €15m (£13m) price tag sees this potential deal come at an opportune moment for another coup.

How good is Tosin Adarabioyo?

The 25-year-old has starred for the Cottagers ever since his permanent switch from Manchester City, overseeing their Premier League return and subsequent stunning return campaign under Marco Silva.

Last term saw him struggle at times for fitness, but still impress across his 25 top-flight appearances. He maintained a 6.89 average rating, bolstered by his 82% pass accuracy, 71% dribble success rate, 1.2 tackles and 5.5 clearances per game, via Sofascore.

This form will likely have come as no surprise to his former boss Tony Mowbray, who spoke of his phenomenal physical qualities back in 2019:

“I thought Tosin today was immense. We’ve struggled with teams who played direct football against us but I told him that he had to be the man that stood up, be tall, head the ball, and it’s underestimated how important heading the ball over the halfway line is.

“That’s what he did, and scored on top of it.”

In potentially treading that path from Fulham to the Spurs, he would actually be following in the footsteps of one of the club’s greatest players in recent memory, Mousa Dembele.

mousa-dembele

The Belgian joined following the departure of Luka Modric in 2012, with huge boots to fill. However, his legacy in north London arguably outranks that of the legendary Croatian, given how he connected with the fanbase due to his enigmatic play style.

He was strong, fast, elegant and emphatic, featuring 249 times before his eventual exit in 2019. Mauricio Pochettino lauded his tenure:

“I always say to him, ‘Mousa, when I write my book, you will be one of my genius players that I have been lucky enough to meet.

“One was Maradona; also Ronaldinho, Okocha and Iván de la Peña – he was a genius, too – and then Mousa. We always tell Mousa that if we had taken him at 18 or 19, he would have become one of the best players in the world.”

His starring campaign, during the 2015/16 term, helped exemplify exactly why he remains such a revered figure. Boasting a 7.41 average rating in the league, he maintained a 90% pass accuracy, 92% dribble success rate, 3.9 tackles and one key pass per game, via Sofascore.

Should Adarabioyo have half as big an impact on this Spurs squad as Dembele enjoyed during his tenure, then Postecoglou will be cruising towards an unprecedented level of success in his first year in charge.