Gus Poyet warns Tosin Adarabioyo to brace himself for Chelsea boos after following his footsteps by joining Tottenham

TOSIN ADARABIOYO is the first player since Gus Poyet to move from Chelsea to Tottenham in a paid transfer since May 2001. The £8million deadline day signing of Tosin, 28, ended a 25-year streak of Tottenham not paying any money for a Chelsea player, with a large part of that marked by a rivalry between former club owners Daniel Levy and Roman Abramovich. Gus Poyet told SunSport Chelsea was ‘the team of his life’ Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Gus Poyet in action for Spurs AGAINST Chelsea Credit: Alamy In fact, the only business done in that period between the clubs at all, was a free transfer for Carlo Cudicini, Chelsea buying goalkeeper Neil Sullivan for £500,000 as Cudicini’s backup, and young striker Jude Soonsup-Bell moving to Spurs’ youth team from Chelsea’s academy. And while the Uruguayan midfielder is regarded as a cult hero at Stamford Bridge for his finest moments, he was not always so highly thought of by Blues fans after making the switch in 2001. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! But in an exclusive interview with SunSport, on behalf of Gambling.com, Poyet revealed how “naive” he was about his move, and sent a warning to Tosin over the reception he might get when he returns to Stamford Bridge. He said: “I think I was a little bit naive – I didn’t realise the impact it would have on Chelsea supporters until after I signed for Spurs. “When I was at Chelsea and we were trying to win trophies, the goal was to win the Premier League, and to do that we needed to beat Man United or Arsenal. “To me we did not respect Spurs, they were not our biggest rivals, that’s the bottom line.” Poyet, 58, also admitted that he was forced away from the club he loved by former manager Claudio Ranieri. And in a sense, Tosin may feel the same way about Xabi Alonso, having been left surplus to requirements this season. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS The defender posted an emotional message to Chelsea fans on social media after he left, which was largely well received by Blues supporters, most of whom are more than pleased with the £8m fee that the club received for him. Some have even suggested that his name will be cheered when it is read out by the Chelsea stadium announcer. The reality is, there will likely be boos for him. Perhaps less of a hostile reception for Mykhailo Mudryk who also joined the North London club on deadline day, though he joined on loan with a desperation to get his Premier League career back on track following his suspension. Tosin is the first player to move from Chelsea to Tottenham for a fee since Poyet in 2001 Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Mykhailo Mudryk also moved to Spurs from Chelsea, but on loan Credit: Tottenham Hotspur FC Poyet insisted that players sometimes have to make tough decisions like that and take their personal lives into account, and joked it’s not surprising anymore, given how much Spurs have spent in this window. He added: “In my head, going to Spurs was normal, it would be worse to go to United or Arsenal, so when Ranieri started getting rid of the strong heads like me and Dennis Wise, I had to make a decision.” “It was only after I signed and saw the reactions that I realised what I’d done. It was strange. I was naive. “You also need to understand though how a player feels about Chelsea. I remember how I felt, I was in love with Chelsea and that was no secret, they are my team, but they didn’t want me and that was upsetting, I needed to live. “You expect me to go to a worse club, for less money which was worse for my family, just so that I didn’t upset anyone? What about me? “I couldn’t stay at Chelsea, the manager wanted to do everything differently to me, and they spent £100m and didn’t win a trophy, and I had to go somewhere else. Poyet claimed that the rivalry between Chelsea and Spurs is manufactured Credit: Getty He insists the North London derby is the only real London derby there is Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd “Glenn Hoddle came to my house and showed me the project and showed my wife, so it’s a bit unfair sometimes – you need to know how the coaches are making the players feel – some coaches that will say to a player “you’re not wanted here and you need to go” and as a player that feels unfair.” Poyet did have some defending of Tosin and Mudryk to do after his naivety 25 years ago, and gave them some grace that it could be worse. They could have gone from Arsenal to Tottenham, or vice-versa. The midfielder feels that the rivalry between Spurs and the Blues is one that is manufactured, and not a ‘proper’ derby like that in North London. “Chelsea and Tottenham for me, is not realistically a derby. “The only derby in London is Arsenal vs Spurs, the rest are London derbies that are the equivalent to a derby in Sussex or Derby – you can’t tell me that Chelsea vs Tottenham and Arsenal vs Tottenham is the same level, I played in both. “Chelsea needed a derby because Fulham, West Ham and Crystal Palace were not rivals to them for various reasons, but the derby in London is Tottenham vs Arsenal and nothing else.” Poyet was speaking exclusively to SunSport on behalf of Gambling.com. Comment now