When offered a YTS place by Liverpool, the team he supported, he believed that trying to progress as a fellow left-footed striker at the club at the same time as Fowler would not be a good idea.

[9] In February 1998, Adebola was signed by manager Trevor Francis for fellow First Division club Birmingham City for a fee of £1 million.

[11] Though remaining on the transfer list, he was restored to the first team, and his goals helped Birmingham to reach the 2001 Football League Cup Final.

[11] The manager said he kept him on the transfer list in order to provoke him into the sort of performance commensurate with his power, pace and technical ability but which his "laid-back" character might otherwise inhibit.

A spell on loan at Oldham Athletic towards the end of the 2001–02 season helped him back to fitness, but new manager Steve Bruce chose not to renew his contract.

In August 2002, Adebola signed a one-year contract with Crystal Palace, after impressing former manager Trevor Francis in a trial.

[17] It was only when recalled to the Coventry side on a regular basis in 2004–05, first under Peter Reid and particularly under Micky Adams, playing with the likes of Stern John and Gary McSheffrey, that his form picked up.

On 30 January 2008, Adebola signed an 18-month contract with Bristol City, moving for an undisclosed fee,[18] despite Coventry wanting to renew his deal, which was due to end in the summer.

He was mainly restricted to substitute appearances, finding himself below Dexter Blackstock and Robert Earnshaw in the pecking order, but he did manage to force his way into the Forest team, particularly away from home, towards the end of the season.

His last appearance for Wrexham was as an 88th-minute substitute, replacing Jay Harris, at Wembley Stadium in the Conference play-off final against Newport County.

[30] In March 1998 new Northern Ireland manager Lawrie McMenemy, on discovering Adebola to be a British citizen born abroad and therefore eligible to play for any of the home countries, selected him for his first match in charge, a friendly against Slovakia.