Tom Dele-Bashiru

Tom Dele-Bashiru

Personal information
Full name	Ayotomiwa Sherif Dele-Bashiru[1]
Date of birth	(1999-09-17) 17 September 1999 (age 25)[2]
Place of birth	Manchester, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Watford
Number	24
Youth career
2005–2017	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2019	Manchester City	0	(0)
2019–	Watford	55	(4)
2021–2022	→ Reading (loan)	38	(4)
International career^‡
2014	England U16	2	(0)
2019	Nigeria U20	3	(1)
2019–	Nigeria U23	1	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 September 2020

Ayotomiwa Sherif "Tom" Dele-Bashiru (born 17 September 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Watford.[4] Born in England, Dele-Bashiru represents Nigeria internationally.

Club career

Dele-Bashiru made his professional debut on 19 December 2017 in the EFL Cup against Leicester City, replacing Phil Foden in the 91st minute and playing in extra time.[5]

On 24 July 2019, Dele-Bashiru joined Watford on a six-year deal after his contract with Manchester City expired.[6] He made his Watford debut and scored the opening goal in a 3–3 draw against Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup third round.[7]

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 and would be out for around six months.[8]

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.[4] He scored his first goals for Reading when he scored twice against Peterborough United on 14 September 2021 in a 3-1 win.[9]

International career

Dele-Bashiru has represented the England under-16 team,[10] 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 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 Manchester City before joining Sheffield Wednesday.[11]

Career statistics

As of match played 25 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester City U21	2017–18[12]	—			—		—		—		3[a]	0	3	0
	2018–19[13]	—			—		—		—		5[a]	1	5	1
	Total		—		—		—		—		8	1	8	1
Manchester City	2017–18[12]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2018–19[13]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
Watford	2019–20[14]	Premier League	0	0	2	1	1	0	—		—		3	1
	2020–21[15]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	2021–22[16]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	-
	2022–23[17]	Championship	6	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		6	0
	2023–24[18]	Championship	35	2	2	1	1	0	—		—		38	3
	2024–25[19]	Championship	12	2	0	0	3	0	—		—		15	2
	Total		55	4	4	2	5	0	—		—		64	6
Reading (loan)	2021–22[16]	Championship	38	4	1	0	0	0	—		—		39	4
	Total		38	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		39	4
Career total			92	8	5	2	6	0	0	0	8	1	111	10

1. Appearances in EFL Trophy

References

1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
2. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: Nigeria" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
3. "Tom Dele-Bashiru". Watford F.C. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
4. FC, Reading. "TDB: "I'm excited to be back doing what I love!"". Reading FC. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
5. "LEICESTER CITY VS. MANCHESTER CITY 1 - 1". uk.soccerway.com. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
6. "Watford sign ex-Man City midfielder Dele-Bashiru". FA Premier League. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
7. "Watford 3–3 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
8. "Injury News: Dele-Bashiru Set For Surgery". watfordfc.com. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
9. "Reading 3-1 Peterborough". BBC. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
10. "Manchester City U18s Tom Dele-Bashiru profile". MCFC.
11. "Fisayo Dele-Bashiru: Manchester City midfielder joins Sheffield Wednesday for undisclosed fee". BBC. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
12. "Games played by Tom Dele-Bashiru in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
13. "Games played by Tom Dele-Bashiru in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
14. "Games played by Tom Dele-Bashiru in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
15. "Games played by Tom Dele-Bashiru in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
16. "Games played by Tom Dele-Bashiru in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
17. "Games played by Tom Dele-Bashiru in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
18. "Games played by Tom Dele-Bashiru in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
19. "Games played by Tom Dele-Bashiru in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2020.

External links

• Tom Dele-Bashiru at Soccerway
• England profile at The Football Association