Tom Adeyemi

Tom Adeyemi

With Birmingham City in 2013 pre-season
Personal information
Full nameThomas Oluseun Adeyemi
Date of birth24 October 1991
Place of birthNorwich, England[1]
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Cardiff City
Number18
Youth career
2000–2008Norwich City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2008–2013Norwich City11(0)
2010–2011→ Bradford City (loan)34(5)
2011–2012→ Oldham Athletic (loan)36(2)
2012–2013→ Brentford (loan)30(2)
2013–2014Birmingham City35(1)
2014–Cardiff City12(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:49, 26 December 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Thomas Oluseun "Tom" Adeyemi (born 24 October 1991) is an English footballer who plays for Cardiff City.

Adeyemi started his professional career at Football League Championship side Norwich City in 2008, having progressed through the club's youth ranks, and made his professional debut for the club in 2009. During his five-year spell at the club as a professional, he made eleven league appearances. He spent the 2010–11 season on loan to Football League Two side Bradford City, where he made 34 league appearances, and the next season on loan to Oldham Athletic of Football League One, making 36 league appearances. He was sent out on loan again for 2012–13, this time to League One Brentford, where he made 30 league appearances.

He joined Football League Championship club Birmingham City in July 2013 on a free transfer, having been released by Norwich, and a year later moved again, to fellow Championship club Cardiff City.

Early life

Adeyemi, a Tottenham Hotspur supporter, attended Norwich School[2] and, having worked his way through the club's youth structure, signed professional forms for Norwich aged 17, in November 2008.[3] He opted to decline a university offer from Cambridge University to pursue his footballing career, subsequently gaining A* grades at Advanced Level in Biology and Chemistry and an A grade in Mathematics.[4]

Career

Norwich City

Adeyemi made his debut for Norwich's first team on 8 August 2009, as a substitute for Matthew Gill during their heavy 7–1 defeat to Colchester United on the opening day of the 2009–10 season.

Former manager Glenn Roeder, who gave him his professional contract, described him:[3]

"He's very athletic, technically very gifted and one of the nicest young men that I've ever dealt with. He comes from a lovely family, and academically he's incredibly intelligent – I don't think he got anything less than an A grade in his GCSEs. My son goes to the same school and the headmaster told me if Tom decides at any point he doesn't want to play football he can go back to Norwich School, get his A levels and end up at Oxford or Cambridge, and I don't think he means their football teams!"

In March 2010, Adeyemi was named League One Apprentice of the Year at the Football League Awards.[5]

In July 2010, following Norwich City's promotion to the Championship, Adeyemi joined League Two side Bradford City on an initial six-month loan deal, later extended to a full season loan.[2] He scored on his debut in 3–1 loss against Shrewsbury Town.

Adeyemi signed for League One side Oldham Athletic on a five-month loan deal in August 2011.[6] Adeyemi made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw with local rivals Huddersfield Town.[7] Adeyemi scored his second goal for the club against Carlisle United after getting his debut goal against Milton Keynes Dons in the televised 2–1 win. During Oldham's FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool at Anfield, Adeyemi thought he was the target of racist abuse from an individual in the stands, which led to a police investigation. An arrest was made, but the Crown Prosecution Service found "insufficient evidence to bring any criminal charges".[8][9]

On 11 April 2012, at the end of Adeyemi's loan deal, Oldham decided not to extend his deal until the end of the season and allowed him to return to parent club Norwich City. Adeyemi made 45 appearances and scored three goals.[10]

He joined League One side Brentford on a six-month loan deal on 29 August 2012.[11]

Birmingham City

On 24 June 2013, following his release from Norwich City, Adeyemi signed a two-year contract with Championship club Birmingham City. Manager Lee Clark described him as "a terrific young lad who is a powerful and athletic midfield player who can get forward and score goals."[12] He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat at home to Watford on 3 August, and remained a regular member of the starting eleven.[13] He scored the winning penalty, albeit off the crossbar and the goalkeeper's back, to defeat Yeovil Town in the second round of the League Cup,[14] and scored his first goal in the third round as Birmingham beat holders Swansea City 3–1. He stole the ball on the edge of Swansea's penalty area and knocked it to Chris Burke; Burke's return pass left Adeyemi a tap-in.[15]

In the latter part of 2013, Birmingham went ten games unbeaten with a team built around a "spine" of Adeyemi and loanees Kyle Bartley, Dan Burn and Jesse Lingard, but the loanees were recalled, Adeyemi suffered a back injury which appeared to restrict his physicality when he was fit to play, and the team struggled.[16][17] He was able to produce a strong performance on the final day of the season, when Birmingham avoided relegation on goal difference, was chosen as the club's young player of the season, and felt that increasing maturity was allowing him to take on more responsibility.[18] Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Clark appointed Adeyemi vice-captain.[19] Ten days later, amid interest from Cardiff City, he submitted a transfer request.[17]

Cardiff City

Adeyemi signed a three-year contract with Championship club Cardiff City on 7 August 2014.[20] The fee was undisclosed, but reported in the Birmingham Mail as "in excess of £1 million, with add-ons [and] a sell-on clause".[21]

Club statistics

As of match played 26 December 2014
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Norwich City 2009–10[22] League One 11000204[lower-alpha 1]0170
2011–12[23] Premier League 00—00—00
2012–13[24] Premier League 00—00—00
Total 110002040170
Bradford City (loan) 2010–11[25] League Two 34510101[lower-alpha 1]0375
Oldham Athletic (loan) 2011–12[23] League One 36240—5[lower-alpha 1]1453
Brentford (loan) 2012–13[24] League One 30251—4[lower-alpha 2]0393
Birmingham City 2013–14[13] Championship3511042—403
Cardiff City 2014–15[26] Championship1210010—131
Career totals 158111118214119115
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. ↑ One appearance in Football League Trophy, three in Football League One play-offs

Honours

Norwich City

References

  1. ↑ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 504. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Norwich City | Team | First Team Profiles | Tom Adeyemi
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Norwich City | News | First News | First News | ADEYEMI SIGNS PRO CONTRACT
  4. ↑ Freezer.D (2012) Norwich City youngster caught up in controversy at Liverpool, The pink 'un, 7 January 2012. Accessed 7 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Adeyemi honoured at league awards, Norwich City Football Club, 17 March 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  6. ↑ Latics land top young Canary, Oldham Athletic Football Club; 31 August 2011
  7. ↑ Oldham 1–1 Huddersfield, BBC Sport; 3 September 2011
  8. ↑ "Police probe Adeyemi incident". ESPN FC. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "No charges over footballer Tom Adeyemi 'racist abuse' case". BBC News. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Adeyemi Leaves Latics". Oldham Athletic AFC. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Adeyemi Joins the Bees". Brentford FC. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Blues snap-up midfielder Adeyemi". Birmingham City F.C. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Games played by Tom Adeyemi in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Tattum, Colin (11 September 2013). "Tom Adeyemi: 'We maybe do deserve a little more in terms of points'". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "Capital One Cup third round: Birmingham knock out holders Swansea with 3–1 win". Sky Sports. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  16. ↑ Tattum, Colin (28 January 2014). "Lee Clark needs to rebuild his team after loan deals end and injuries hit". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Tattum, Colin (5 August 2014). "Tom Adeyemi hands transfer request in at Blues". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  18. ↑ Tattum, Colin (24 May 2014). "Tom Adeyemi ready to be a leader for Blues". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "Championship: Tom Adeyemi named Birmingham City vice-captain for 2014–15". Sky Sports. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  20. ↑ "Cardiff City sign Tom Adeyemi on a three-year deal from Birmingham". BBC Sport. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  21. ↑ Tattum, Colin (7 August 2014). "Lee Clark: I wanted to keep Tom Adeyemi, the board wanted to keep Tom Adeyemi". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Tom Adeyemi in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Games played by Tom Adeyemi in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Games played by Tom Adeyemi in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  25. ↑ "Games played by Tom Adeyemi in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Tom Adeyemi in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2014.

External links