| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ayotomiwa Sherif Dele-Bashiru [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 September 1999 [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 | 63 | (6) |
| 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 12 March 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.
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]
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.
Dele-Bashiru's younger brother Fisayo also came through the ranks at Manchester City before joining Sheffield Wednesday. [11]
| 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 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 4 | |||
| Total | 63 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 72 | 8 | ||||
| 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 | 99 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 119 | 12 | ||