Ayotomiwa Sherif "Tom" Dele-Bashiru (born 17 September 1999) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. Born in England, Dele-Bashiru represents Nigeria internationally.

Club career

Dele-Bashiru made his professional debut for Manchester City on 19 December 2017 in the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, replacing

Phil Foden Philip Walter Foden (born 28 May 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. Foden's breakthrough into professional football came in 2017 when he won the FIF ...

in the 91st minute and playing in extra time. On 24 July 2019, Dele-Bashiru joined

on a six-year deal after his contract with

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

expired. He made his Watford debut and scored the opening goal in a 3–3 draw against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third round. On his first league start, Dele-Bashiru came off injured in the first-half against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on 3 October 2020. It was confirmed that he would undergo surgery for an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

and would be out for around six months. After returning to training and representing the ''Hornets'' during the pre-season in Summer 2021, Dele-Bashiru joined Reading on a season-long loan, in order to get more playing time and fully restore his fitness. He scored his first goals for Reading when he scored twice against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

on 14 September 2021 in a 3-1 win.

International career

Dele-Bashiru has represented the England under-16 team, but he is also eligible for

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. He was part of the

Nigeria national under-20 football team The Nigerian men's national under-20 football team represents Nigeria in men's international association football, football also known as the Nigeria Under-20s or nicknamed the ''Flying Eagles.'' The Flying Eagles is the youth team for the nat ...

in the

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Dele-Bashiru scored Nigeria's third goal in their opening match win against Qatar, with the game finishing 4–0.

Personal life

Dele-Bashiru's younger brother Fisayo also came through the ranks at

before joining

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Career statistics

References

External links

*
England profile
at

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dele-Bashiru, Tom 1999 births Living people Footballers from Manchester Nigerian men's footballers Nigeria men's under-20 international footballers English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent Manchester City F.C. players Watford F.C. players Reading F.C. players Men's association football midfielders English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen