Tosin Adarabioyo closes door on Super Eagles' call-up, confirms England national team ambition

Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo has restated his desire to play for the Three Lions of England in the future, thereby closing any chance of playing for the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

The former Manchester City starlet will finally get his chance to shine in the Premier League after helping Fulham secure automatic promotion to the top flight for next season. 

Adarabioyo has played for England at the U13 - U19 levels but has not played for the England youth teams since 2015, leading to speculations he might be open to playing for Nigeria.

Adarabioyo considers himself to be near the level of Manchester United captain Harry Maguire and former Manchester City teammate John Stones, both of whom are in the England national team setup. 

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The 24-year-old centre-back told The Sun that he is targeting being at the World Cup in Qatar later this year and he believes he has the quality to achieve his aim. 

Adarabioyo said: "To be up there with Stones and Maguire was amazing, because they are the two England centre-halves right now. Stones is one of the best players in the world.

“I’ve definitely got the quality to be in the England squad. Every player’s concentration has to be on getting to the World Cup this winter — and that’s my goal."

The Fulham star admitted that playing in the Championship might have limited his chances of making it to the England national team but now that he will be playing in the Premier League, he stands a better chance.

“I knew, because I was playing in the Championship, that it wasn’t going to be possible to get a call-up but it’s definitely possible now," Adarabioyo explained.

“My ambition this season had to be just to play every week for Fulham and get them back into the Premier League.”

Tosin Adarabioyo was born in Manchester to Nigerian parents and came up in the Manchester City Academy with loans to West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers before moving to Fulham on a permanent deal in October 2020.