Tom Adeyemi

He featured heavily for the club, making 34 league appearances, as they endured a difficult season, finishing 18th.

Thomas Oluseun Adeyemi (born 24 October 1991) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Adeyemi started his professional career at Championship club 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.

Having progressed through the youth ranks, he signed his first professional contract in November 2008 and 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.

Three days later, he was handed his first start in a 4–0 victory over Yeovil Town in the League Cup.

Manager Glenn Roeder, who gave him his professional contract, described him:

"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!"

He spent the 2010–11 season on loan to League Two club Bradford City, where he made 34 league appearances, and the next season on loan to Oldham Athletic of League One, making 36 league appearances.

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

In July 2010, following Norwich City's promotion to the Championship, Adeyemi joined League Two club Bradford City on an initial six-month loan deal, later extended to a full season loan.

He scored on his debut in a 3–1 loss against Shrewsbury Town.

Adeyemi signed for League One club Oldham Athletic on a five-month loan deal in August 2011.

Adeyemi made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw with local rivals Huddersfield Town.

He scored his first goal for Oldham against Milton Keynes Dons in a 2–1 win.

During Oldham's FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool at Anfield, Adeyemi claimed he was the target of racist abuse from an individual in the stands.

With ten minutes of the match remaining, he became involved in an altercation with fans after the alleged incident and was restrained by the match referee and teammates.

An arrest was made, but the Crown Prosecution Service found "insufficient evidence to bring any criminal charges".

He was sent out on loan again for the 2012–13 season, this time to League One club Brentford, where he made 30 league appearances.

He made seventeen appearances for Norwich during his first season, helping the club win promotion to the Championship, and was rewarded with a new contract set to run until 2012.

His loan deal was extended by a further month in January 2012 and extended again in February.

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.

He made 45 appearances and scored three goals.

Adeyemi stated that he was open to the possibility of a permanent move to Oldham.

He joined League One club Brentford on a six-month loan deal on 29 August 2012, signed by Uwe Rösler.

Adeyemi impressed in the centre of midfield and extended his loan until the end of the season.

He played in the dramatic final match of the regular season, against Doncaster Rovers, in which Brentford's Marcello Trotta missed a last-minute penalty which would have earned Brentford automatic promotion, only for Doncaster to run up to the opposite end of the pitch and score a winner.

Brentford entered the play-offs, in which they beat Swindon Town in the semi-final only for Adeyemi to be on the losing team in the final, beaten 2–1 by Yeovil Town.

He joined 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.

After struggling to establish himself in the first team, he spent time on loan with Leeds United and Rotherham United before being released and joining Ipswich Town.

Adeyemi was born in Milton Keynes, moving to Norwich with his family at the age of five after his father started a job in the area.

He attended Norwich School.

He declined a university offer from the University of Cambridge to pursue his footballing career, subsequently gaining A* grades at Advanced Level in Biology and Chemistry and an A grade in Mathematics.

Adeyemi began his career with Norwich City, joining the club's youth system at the age of nine.

He grew up supporting the club and was a season ticket holder alongside his father and grandfather before joining the playing staff.

Towards the end of the season, Adeyemi stated his desire to return to Brentford on loan for the 2013–14 season.

On 24 June 2013, following his release from Norwich, 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."

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.

He scored the winning penalty during a shootout, albeit off the crossbar and the goalkeeper's back, to defeat Yeovil Town in the second round of the League Cup, and scored his first goal in the third round as Birmingham beat holders Swansea City 3–1.