A Championship footballer dodged a £100 train fare - despite earning thousands of pounds a week.
Watford's Tom Dele-Bashiru - full name Ayotomiwa Sherif Tom Dele-Bashiru - failed to stump up the cash for a rail journey he made from Reading to Manchester on December 18 last year.
The midfielder, who was on loan at Reading at the time, did not purchase a ticket that should have been priced at £103.50. The 22-year-old was the subject of a hearing at Dudley Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, June 8. Magistrates ordered the former Manchester City player to pay a £140 fine.
He was also ordered to pay £103.50 compensation to the Cross Country railway service, meaning he had to fork out almost £250 in fees.
According to a number of industry websites, Dele-Bashiru's salary is estimated to range between £4,600-£8,000 per week. He made 38 appearances for the Royals last season, scoring four times.
He has now returned to parent club Watford and will be hoping to impress new manager Rob Edwards following the Hornets' relegation from the Premier League last season. Dele-Bashiru joined Watford in 2019 on a bumper six-year deal after his contract with Manchester City expired. He has made just five appearances for them so far.
Coincidentally, he suffered an ACL injury playing for Watford against Reading in October 2020. It meant a lengthy spell on the sidelines before he joined the Royals on loan the following summer.
Speaking about the decision to go out on loan, he told the Watford Observer: “To be honest, I did want to push for my place (at Watford) but in the back of my mind, I also knew that a loan would probably be the best option because I need regular game time. Coming back off an ACL injury, another season sitting on the bench wasn’t going to do me much good, so I needed to go out there and go and play because I needed as many minutes as I could get under my belt.
“I think I’m capable of performing in the Premier League, I just obviously needed the experience to player here in the Championship and learn about men’s football as I’ve not really played many seasons of men’s football yet.
“Even though the season hasn’t been a great season because of the position we’re in, I’ve played with very good players week in week out, training with good managers and learning new things every day. So I’ve definitely gained valuable experience. It’s in the back of my mind what’s going to happen next season."
If Edwards opts to integrate Dele-Bashiru into his side next term he could well come up against the Royals following Watford's relegation and Reading maintaining their spot in the second tier.
The Championship fixtures are released on June 23 and the season is set to begin across the weekend of July 30-31.
