The Good, The Bad, The Tosin: Is This Defender England's Next Big Thing?

The Good, The Bad, The Tosin: Is This Defender England's Next Big Thing?

With their shock defeat at home to Sunderland on Saturday, Chelsea showed exactly why they are not to be considered title contenders yet. They took the lead and yet failed to create any clear chances afterwards; they kept the pressure on almost constantly and yet looked vulnerable on Sunderland’s rare foray forwards; and their backline was once again their downfall, as it has been so often since the Blue Co takeover.

This is the moment I realized why we got Tosin for free and why Chalobah wasn't in Maresca's plans at first.

Absolute liabilities! pic.twitter.com/AErdfK9JeB

— Prinsley (@_prinsley) October 25, 2025

Their 2-1 loss to the Black Cats showed football fans the best and the worst of this young, inexperienced side, and while a few individuals emerged from the game with some deserved credit, the majority left with more question marks hanging over them than ever before.

Enzo Maresca has certainly overseen a vast improvement since taking the helm at Stamford Bridge last summer, but frustrations are growing over the repetitive mistakes and costly judgement calls, vectors that could be labelled as the backing track to the entire Blue Co. and, to an extent, the Maresca reign.

So, what happened at Stamford Bridge? Which players did themselves a favour with their performance? And who has become the scapegoat in the wake of such a surprising result?

The Good

There was very little that was good about Chelsea’s performance at the weekend - one early positive saw Alejandro score his first goal for the club just four minutes in (beating the 007 meme at the final attempt in the process), and Pedro Neto registered yet another all-action performance down both flanks.

However, for the most part, Maresca’s side seemed to be going through the motions in a manner which suggested they had made the classic mistake of underestimating a newly-promoted side – the fact that Sunderland could move second in the league with a win should have forced them to second-guess themselves.

There was one overwhelming silver lining from their performance, though: the presence of Josh Acheampong, the 19-year-old who operates with the poise and precision of a prime Virgil van Dijk.

Some of Josh Acheampong. pic.twitter.com/K5dx0zuUdk

— 🥷 (@HH_comps) October 26, 2025

Yes, perhaps that is over-exaggerating, but the quality of the teenager’s performance cannot be overstated - it spoke volumes that when the latest Cobham starlet was substituted in the 76th minute for Tosin Adarabioyo (we’ll get to him later), Chelsea looked far less convincing at the back, and eventually conceded Sunderland’s stoppage-time winner.

Acheampong was a class act - he mopped up anything that central defensive partner Trevoh Chalobah missed, which unfortunately was a frequent occurrence, and he went into every challenge with little to no concern for his own welfare. His sole purpose was to battle for everything, and more often than not, he won these battles hands down.

Notice how all 4 of Josh Acheampong’s key blocks came from Chalobah’s zone. He was constantly covering mistakes and was our only reliable defender before being taken off

pic.twitter.com/RKoIaAcvT9

— SHAYEE 𒀭 (@tier_1st) October 26, 2025

His performance was made all the more impressive by the fact that he is not actually a central centre-back. Brought through the academy at right-back, Acheampong was blooded into the first team by way of Conference League football, where more often than not, he would occupy his favoured position.

However, he is the perfect build for a centre-back: 185 cm tall, extremely quick in recovery, and deceptively strong despite his fairly slight build. Acheampong has all the building blocks to be Chelsea’s next star graduate, and if his form continues in this vein, an England call can only be just around the corner.

The Bad

Other aspects of Chelsea’s approach were less worthy of praise - Garnacho, while positive on the left-hand side, rarely showed any sign of even a half-decent end product, and despite netting the opening goal, he was hooked before the hour mark to make way for Willian Estavao, who, despite his obvious world-beating talent, had a fairly ineffective game himself.

Joao Pedro had another poor game; the Brazilian simply couldn’t find a way to get involved, and though he caught the eye with a few flicks and tricks from time to time, he didn’t manage to produce anything meaningful from his 85 minutes on the pitch.

Typically, I would also launch into criticism of Enzo Fernandez here, but in a rare turn of the tables, it was actually his midfield partner in crime, Moises Caicedo, who struggled to find his best level on the day.

The Ecuadorian still put in a tireless shift in midfield but, for once, struggled to win the 50/50 duels he so obviously enjoys, and when he did win the ball, he often played the safe pass instead of taking a risk in trying to catch out Sunderland while they were a man short.

These lacklustre performances from Caicedo have become so few and far between that I could scarcely believe my eyes when he didn’t emerge from a challenge with the ball - it is so often a sure thing that we Chelsea fans take him for granted, forgetting that he is only human and is bound to have some off days.

33-year-old Granit Xhaka bossing the midfield today for Sunderland against £115m Moises Caicedo and £110m Enzo Fernandez.

What a captain. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/UGNzfp5Cwc

— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) October 25, 2025

However, Chalobah’s poor showing stood out amongst a host of poor showings - another Cobham graduate, Chalobah’s lack of impact at the back and poor decision-making for Sunderland’s winner showed the cost of playing squad players as regular starters. Sure, they can do the job the majority of the time, but they simply can’t guarantee the same consistent quality as first-choice defenders Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill.

For the aforementioned late dagger to Chelsea hearts, Chalobah chased back to support Tosin in managing breakaway forward Brian Brobbey and, for whatever reason, saw fit to leave his subbed-on partner to deal with the forward and instead mark the vacant penalty spot for all of five seconds.

Instead of looking forward and seeing the Sunderland cavalry arrive, Chalobah took the most passive form of action possible - this allowed Brobbey to eventually wrestle himself free of Tosin and square the ball to Chemsdine Talbi. By then, it was too late for Chalobah to affect the play - he could only watch as the Moroccan side-footed the ball into the bottom corner.

He was at fault for Sunderland’s first goal too, as he lost his aerial duel with Dan Ballard, a lost duel that saw the ball ricochet around the box and eventually fall to Wilson Isidor, who bundled the ball over the line to draw his side level.

Wilson Isidor's fourth Premier League goal of the season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kAhymI51S7

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) October 25, 2025

Chalobah has his good games, but he quite clearly lacks consistency - it is hard to disagree with Chelsea fans that on current form, he should be relegated to a squad depth option, creating space for his more decisive defenders to protect leads and decide games for the Blues.

The Tosin

Oh, Tosin Adarabioyo. Uncle Tosin. What were you doing? While Chalobah’s lack of assistance for Sunderland’s winner cannot be ignored, it was Tosin’s complete absence of a challenge and the non-existent communication between him and Chalobah that ultimately saw Sunderland end Chelsea’s run of four straight wins.

Initially, Tosin did so well to recover position - Brobbey had broken in behind, and the former-Fulham man gave absolutely everything in a bid to prevent a shot from the Dutch forward.

Achieving this, Tosin then decided to passively nudge against Brobbey, keeping his back to goal and ensuring he didn’t commit to a potentially reckless challenge inside of his own penalty area. But surely he realised he had support? As the most senior player in an exceptionally young Chelsea team, where was the call for backup when Chalobah was right next to him?

Chalobah stood just five yards away, and could have made up that ground in under two seconds, forcing Brobbey to rush his pass or lose the ball cheaply. However, thanks to the five-second wait to do anything, options arrived for the Sunderland forward, and thanks to both Tosin and Chalobah’s indecision, it was harder to miss than to score.

Just look at Tosin bro!🤦‍♂️
pic.twitter.com/RG1GkoUz6S

— Felix⭐️ (@felix_jnf) October 25, 2025

When Tosin was brought in at the beginning of last season, fans were decidedly unsure on him. Sure he was an experienced head with proven Premier League quality, but the fact that a mid-table side like Fulham were willing to let him go at the end of his contract without putting up much of a fight should have been a warning sign.

His passing range is good, and he has a decent turn of pace when required, but at the end of the day, as a centre-back, you are hired for your defending prowess. If this is shown to be less than up to scratch, it doesn’t take long for your position to come under question.

Good in the air but consistently inconsistent when going into challenges with his feet, Tosin is showing exactly why Chelsea got him for free, and when his performances across the season are compared to those of Acheampong, whom he was subbed on to replace, it becomes clear that it won’t take long before Maresca starts to consider playing the teenager ahead of the 28-year-old (an age which, amazingly, makes him Chelsea’s oldest player).

There is so much to like about Chelsea’s side, and despite growing frustrations with Enzo Maresca himself, I still believe he is the right man for the job. He has guided the club to two trophies in just over 12 months, and despite pushback from the board in the transfer market, he built a remarkably strong young team in virtually all areas of the field.

2 years into his tenure and Maresca still has no answer to a low block. He doesn't deserve to manage Chelsea. He doesn’t deserve players of Estevao and Palmer’s calibre. Under a proper coach we’d be challenging for titles by now

— Len (@celery_v2) October 25, 2025

However, the one area of the field he has not managed to address is at the heart of his defence, the exact area where, more often than not, Chelsea get found out. If he wants his side to be considered amongst the genuine title contenders, something needs to change here, or calls for Maresca’s job could become irresistibly loud.