x

Leeds Sources Claim Che Adams Move To Elland Road Is On

The media in Leeds are claiming that Che Adams is close to moving to Elland Road after Saints named their terms for a deal, but how accurate is that.

The Yorkshire rumour mill is in meltdown with so called "Reliable reporters" suggesting that Leeds United have agreed terms with Saints for Che Adams to join the Championship club.

They say that Saints are demanding a £1 million loan fee and a option to buy in the summer at £10 million.

But with Ralph Hasenhuttl reported as wanting to keep Adams, why would Saints sell now and why at such a loss if the deal should be made permanent in the summer.

The facts are that although Adams hasn't scored this season he hasn't played badly he had a great game at Chelsea on Boxing Day and after coming on as a sub at Leicester set up the winner for Danny Ings.

With Saints currently in a little bit of No Mans Land in the Premier League where they are only a few wins from safety and if they got those wins sooner than later could amazingly enough be in with a chance of a European Qualification place, getting rid of Adams makes no sense.

Although we have four strikers in Ings, Long, Obafemi and Adams with an option to play Djenepo up front, it is still a line up that could suddenly be stretched to the limits, Long, Djenepo and Obafemi have all had their injury problems this season and Danny Ings has yet to have a bad spell.

This means that Adams could yet have a part to play this season and it seems Ralph Hasenhuttl feels the same way after his displays in recent games.

Certainly he will be looking towards next season for Adams to play bigger part, Shane Long has forced his way back as first choice, but he will turn 33 in the next week or so and is no longer a 38 game a season striker, he will be out of contract and although Saints may well offer him a new deal, he may also prefer to get one last pay day with a move after 6 seasons at St Mary's.

So selling Che Adams now does not seem to be a wise move for Saints unless they have something up their sleeve in the January transfer window as a replacement, selling him on the cheap without really giving him the chance to prove himself seems short sighted as well.

I hope that this is just agents talk trying to push a move forward, certainly all the noise is coming from the media who will be getting their information from agents.

Football clubs rarely brief the pres until a deal is done and they certainly don't reveal the financial details before pen is put to paper, that is a sure way to upset the other club involved.

With Eddie Nketiah being recalled by Arsenal and Leeds promotion bid stalling with only one win in their last six Championship games, they will be keen to avoid a repetition of last season when after looking odds on favourites for promotion at Xmas they faded badly.

Therefore this could be more about PR for Leeds, trying to show their fans they are ambitious and are trying to add to their squad and if they fail to do so it won't be for the lack of trying.

I would be shocked and disappointed if this deal went ahead not only from a footballing point of view, but aslo because we have cut our losses cheaply far too soon on a player who has shown he has the potential to succeed at this level.

What to read next:

Southampton V Birmingham City The Preview
A big game for both clubs, to kick off a big week for Saints who really need to keep winning if they are to mount a genuine push for the play offs, but there is good news pre match and Saints should have a strong squad out.
Southampton On Verge Of Managerial Appointment
Saints could announce the appointment of a new manager as early as 9am Friday morning, although reports suggest that there are a few things to iron out before the announcement is made, will the press conference this morning be that announcement or just the normal pre match briefing.
Southampton Set To Appoint New Manager Ahead of Birmingham Game
According to various media sources, Johannes Spors has made up his mind about who will succeed Will Still at St Mary's and he is set to make that appointment ahead of the clash with Birmingham City on Saturday and he could be the new Nigel Adkins
Tonda Eckert Set To Get More Time But Are Saints Biding Their Time For Their Man To Be Available
When Tonda Eckert took over as Southampton manager on an interim basis, if you had said then that he would win his first four games and only lose a fifth with a 97th injury time winner, most would have been delighted and now he looks set to continue, at least for the short term.
Southampton At Millwall The Verdict
Saints fell to their first defeat under Tonda Eckert at Millwall, in a game where they never really got going and looked to have fought for a hard earned point until with just about the last win of the game the home side scored a winner.
Millwall 3 - 2 Southampton - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Southampton At Millwall The Preview
Saints travel to South East London for the second time in a week hoping for a repeat of the performance at Charlton Athletic, but Millwall who will start the weekend in 4th place will be a tougher challenge than any of our 4 wins in a row so far.
German Club Considering Raiding Southampton
With the transfer window about to open in a months time, the season for speculation is starting, the latest reports from Germany suggest that one Bundesliga club has identified someone at St Mary's.
A Rough Guide To Millwall
It was late drama in our last visit in a competitive game two years ago and a bit chaotic afterwards due to issues with the trains between London Bridge & South Bermondsey, hopefully there will be no such issues this time around.
Southampton V Leicester City The Verdict
It was 4 in a row for Tonda Eckert & his Saints side, another polished performance that pushed us up to 11th but more importantly to the fringes of the play off spots, posing the question how a team and it's players who were so poor just 3 weeks or so ago can be so different now.