Southampton have snapped up striker Che Adams from Birmingham City for a fee of around £15 million. He’s signed on a 5 year deal with the club and they claim to have beaten a number of suitors for the 22 year old’s signature. Adams had a great season in the Championship in 2018/19, scoring 22 goals in all competitions.
“Che fits the profile of player we want to bring to Southampton and is very driven to show what he can do at the highest level,” said boss Ralph Hasenhuttl.
“We have been monitoring his progress for some time now. He has shown a desire to join us above all other clubs, which shows the positive reputation Southampton has built for developing young players.”
Player History
Che Adams had quite an adventurous early career. He started his career with Highfield Rangers before joining Coventry City’s youth academy at the age of 7, but he was released at 14. He then played for Leicester club St. Andrews before joining Oadby Town in 2012.
In 2014, he received his first professional contract when Sheffield United fought off interest from better clubs to sign him as a 17 year old on a 2 year deal for an undisclosed six figure fee. Though he could only muster 3 goals in 13 appearances, but his highlight came in the English League Cup semi-final 2nd leg against Tottenham Hotspur when he came on in the 74th minute and scored 2 goals in little more than 2 minutes which they eventually lost 3-2 on aggregate.
2015/16 was a really productive one, as he scored an impressive 11 goals and 2 assists in 36 appearances. This led to his move to Birmingham City on a 3 year deal for a reported fee of £2 million. He did manage 7 goals and 6 assists in about similar amount of minutes as in 2015/16.
2017/18 started with a huge transfer speculation around with multiple bids rejected from Derby, also on deadline day which was a reported £10 million. He eventually ended any speculation with a new 5 year contract. That season was an injury hit season for the 21 year old, although he started the game with a hattrick, but in the very match he injured his hamstring. After returning a month later, he injured his other hamstring. He would again be hampered by this recurring injury in December as he ended the season with only 5 goals and 2 assists in 30 appearances.
2018/19 was the season where he actually caught the eye of many Premier League clubs as remained injury free for almost the entire campaign, scoring an amazing 22 goals and providing 5 assists in 46 appearances, carrying the team to 17th place.
Fantasy Football Potential
He will certainly have considerable amount of game time under Ralph Hasenhuttl as he wasn’t particularly happy with his strikers when he first joined the cub. Arguments can be made about the step up which is needed for this league, something which James Maddison did seamlessly, whilst others have struggled.
In addition he will prefer the 4-2-2-2 system which made him successful at RB Leipzig, the probability of Che Adams being played remains quite high. Adams has been handed a £6.0m price tag, whilst the likes of Danny Ings and Shane Long are priced at £6.0m and £5.0m respectively.
| Player | Adams | Ings | Long | Austin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mins Played | 3740 | 1650 | 1260 | 970 | |
| Goals | 22 | 7 | 5 | 2 | |
| Assists | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Mins per attacking return | 139 | 165 | 180 | 243 | |
| Price | £6.0m | £6.0m | £5.0m | £5.0m |
Considering the above, Adams does look to be a hot prospect this season, albeit his stats come from his time in the Championship. If he can get a good run of games in Hasenhuttl’s team then he could be one to bring into your fantasy teams, however due to the competition in this position it may be worth waiting to see how he settles into the Premier League. Supporting this approach, during gameweek 14 to 18 the Saints have a good run of fixtures, of which a Southampton asset could become a great differential.
Written by Tamish Behal (@Tamish_Behal)
