Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray has praised on-loan Manchester City Tosin Adarabioyo for his ability on the ball, but says he needs to increase his intensity as he looks to take his career further.

Adarabioyo joined Blackburn on a season-long loan deal from City late in the summer transfer window, with the defender making two appearances so far this season for his temporary club.

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Having made his debut in a 2-0 defeat away to Fulham in the second game of the season, the 21-year-old was then kept out of the side for some time due to injury, but returned to the starting line-up for Saturday's clash at home to Millwall.

The defender came through 62 minutes of the game before being substituted, as goals from Derrick Williams and Bradley Dack gave Blackburn a 2-0 win.

Speaking about Adarabioyo in his post-match conference - which Football League World attended - following that win Mowbray joked about the difference in styles between himself and City boss Pep Guardiola, as he claimed: "I'm not sure he's used to having his manager screaming at him all the time."

Going onto discuss the defender's attributes, Mowbray was complimentary of Adarabioyo's ability on the ball and his reading of the game, but added that he believes the defender will need to up his intensity if he is to compete at the highest level.

That is something that Mowbray suggested Adarabioyo will develop over time, as he looks to eventually establish himself in Manchester City's own starting XI.

Blackburn currently sit 11th in the Championship table, and are next in action when they face Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Verdict

I find myself agreeing with Mowbray here.

Throughout that win over Millwall, I was impressed with Adarabioyo's ability to read the game and step in to make some crucial interceptions to help cut out some of the visitor's attacks.

However, he did seem to be less involved when it came to actually directly taking on opposition attackers, something which fellow centre-backs Darragh Lenihan and Derrick Williams seemed to have a more leading role in.

That being said, at just 21-years-old, there is still plenty of time for Adarabioyo to add to that side of his game, and you imagine he will do that as his confidence at this level continues to grow throughout the year.