After Leeds United were relegated to the Championship at the end of last season, it didn’t take long for players to look for ways to jump ship away from Elland Road.
While many players left before the season even began, Tyler Adams was made to wait a little longer to complete his summer transfer to Bournemouth, seeing a move to Chelsea fall through having “hit a snag” despite the Blues agreeing to pay his relegation release clause
Ultimately the American international returned to the Premier League for a fee of £23million plus further add-ons [The Athletic, 20 August] but Adams’ time on the South Coast has gone from bad to worse and Leeds look to have done well to sell him this summer.
According to Paul Tenorio (19 October), the 24-year-old underwent surgery on his hamstring two weeks ago, having suffered a reoccurrence of an injury that blighted his time at Elland Road before he joined the Cherries, having only made one appearance for his new side.
Following the surgery, Adams’ recovery time is expected to be five months meaning he is likely to return to action somewhere between February and March, meaning he could only be available for the final few months of the season.
While no football fan wants to see a player sidelined for any reason, supporters and those involved in Leeds United were by no means impressed by how the former Whites midfielder handled his exit this summer, with Angus Kinnear openly voicing his frustration
Taking all emotion out of the deal, it looks as though the Whites may have pulled off a transfer masterstroke to receive the sort of fee they did during the summer window, considering Adams was clearly not fit and now is set to miss well over half of the campaign.
Had he remained at Elland Road over the summer, Leeds would have been unable to sell the USMNT star when the January window rolled around and would have had to continue paying his wages while he was restricted to the treatment room for much of the season.
If United had then tried to sell him after he had barely kicked a ball in the last 12 months, there is no way that they would have managed to earn anywhere near £23million by selling him and would have likely regretted not allowing him to leave.
Given the midfield quality Farke has required with the fee received for Adams, this looks like an incredibly sensible piece of business from Leeds and the 49ers.
Had he remained at Elland Road over the summer, Leeds would have been unable to sell the USMNT star when the January window rolled around and would have had to continue paying his wages while he was restricted to the treatment room for much of the season.
If United had then tried to sell him after he had barely kicked a ball in the last 12 months, there is no way that they would have managed to earn anywhere near £23million by selling him and would have likely regretted not allowing him to leave.
Given the midfield quality Farke has required with the fee received for Adams, this looks like an incredibly sensible piece of business from Leeds and the 49ers.
