Why Leeds United should rekindle interest in Che Adams
According to a report from Football Insider (h/t Leeds Live), Southampton are ready to sell striker Che Adams in a cut-price £10m deal. Leeds United had failed with a £19m bid for the youngster in January and can now sign him for a much cheaper fee.
Adams spent his youth career at Coventry City and Ilkseton. The youngster joined Sheffield United in 2014, where he spent two years, scoring 15 goals and assisting 5 in 55 matches. In 2016, Birmingham City snapped the youngster up and he prospered.
A regular for the Blues, the striker made 123 appearances for the club, scoring 38 times and creating 13 more. The 23-year-old enjoyed a fine 2018/19 term, following which Southampton signed him up last summer. However, he is yet to open his goalscoring account for the Saints. Till date, he has featured 27 times, producing four assists.
Leeds United, meanwhile, have had a brilliant 2019/20 campaign. The Whites are sitting at the top of the Championship table, having collected 71 points from 37 matches. With a seven-point lead over third-placed Fulham, Marcelo Bielsa’s side look well-placed to seal automatic promotion to the Premier League when the season resumes.
The Whites have scored 56 goals in the Championship this term. Only West Brom, Brentford and QPR have found the net more than the leaders so far. However, Bielsa & co. should bolster their attacking ranks in the summer as a number of their attackers are only on loan at the club.
Indeed, Helder Costa, Jack Harrison and Jean-Kevin Augustin are all on temporary deals with the club. Furthermore, Patrick Bamford and young Tyler Roberts are the only two strikers available at Bielsa’s disposal on a full-time basis.
Bamford has done fairly well, scoring 13 goals in the Championship, but Roberts has managed just 3 goals and is hardly a regular, having featured just 14 times this season. Irrespective of whether Leeds get promoted or stay in the Championship, signing a new centre-forward is a must for the club in order to perform better and improve further.
And to that end, Che Adams would be a handy addition for the club. While he hasn’t been able to score for Southampton this term, he enjoyed his most prolific campaign last time out. In 2018/19 with Birmingham City, the Englishman bagged 22 goals and 5 assists in the Championship.
His poor form at Southampton can be attributed to a lack of regular game-time. He has started just 8 Premier League games so far this season.
At 23, Adams is still young and would only develop further under a coach like Bielsa. In addition, if he is able to recapture the form from last season, the youngster would prove to be a fine addition for the club in the long run.
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Verdict
Leeds do not have enough depth in the centre-forward department. More so, considering that Tyler Roberts hasn’t been a regular starter and Jean-Kevin Augustin is on a loan deal. Hence, they should try to land Che Adams, who is available for a cut-price £10m deal.
