Chelsea have “made contact” to enquire about a deal that would bring Leeds United defensive midfielder Tyler Adams back to the Premier League, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Is Tyler Adams leaving Leeds?
The United States international still has another four years remaining on his contract with Daniel Farke’s side having only joined last summer from RB Leipzig, but having established himself as their overall top-performing player with a WhoScored match rating of 6.73 during his debut season in the top-flight, he’s grabbed the attention of Mauricio Pochettino and Todd Boehly.
The Daily Mail recently reported that the Blues, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United all hold an interest in the 24-year-old, and CBS journalist Ben Jacobs has since confirmed what he’s heard on him potentially moving to Stamford Bridge.
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Speaking to Football FanCast, he said: “It may look on paper like Chelsea have got a lot of young midfielders already, but give it two weeks or so and two or three of them might have departed out on loan and there may be space for more than one midfielder. This is where somebody like Tyler Adams, as a squad player at Chelsea, may be one to watch. He's certainly on their list of possibilities."
Are Chelsea signing Tyler Adams?
Taking to Twitter, Romano revealed that Chelsea have held initial discussions with Adams’ team to discover how much it would take for them to get a deal over the line this summer. He wrote:
“Chelsea made contact with Tyler Adams camp to be informed on conditions of the deal, exploring costs. He’s one of the names being considered as £20m relegation clause is available. Focus remains on Moises Caicedo talks, separate deal and separate story."
As Romano stated above, Chelsea’s priority is still securing the services of Brighton’s Moises Caicedo but it’s believed that Adams putting pen to paper won’t affect that deal at all, so it could be a massive coup if the hierarchy could recruit the latter alongside their number one defensive midfield target this summer.
The New York native last season ranked in the 99th percentile for tackles and the 97th percentile for blocks, via FBRef, highlighting how strong he is at protecting his backline and clearing the danger before it gets through to his defence.
Whilst Leeds’ talisman isn’t effective at the opposite end of the pitch having recorded zero goals or assists since arriving, he has been dubbed the “heart and lungs” of the USA national team, of which he has captained, by talent scout Jacek Kulig, so he would also bring excellent leadership qualities to both the dressing room and out on the pitch.
Finally, Adams is a versatile operator having been deployed in an outstanding seven various positions since the start of his career, including four roles in the centre and even at centre-back, left-back and right-back, so he is extremely adaptable to meet the manager’s needs, another attribute that will no doubt be attractive to Pochettino.