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 le ...

who plays as a midfielder for club Watford. Born in England, Dele-Bashiru represents Nigeria internationally.

Club career

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

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

against Leicester City, replacing Phil Foden in the 91st minute and playing in extra time. On 24 July 2019, Dele-Bashiru joined Watford on a six-year deal after his contract with

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

expired. He made his Watford debut and scored the opening goal in a 3–3 draw against Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup third round. On his first league start, Dele-Bashiru came off injured in the first-half against Reading 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 inju ...

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 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. He was part of the Nigeria national under-20 football team 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 ...

in Poland. 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.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
England profile
at The Football Association {{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