Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa has admitted that he was interested in signing Che Adams from Southampton this month.
Speaking to The Athletic’s Phil Hay in his pre-match press conference, Bielsa claimed that Adams was a target.
Twitter: Bielsa on Che Adams: “He was one. Do you think he’s playing regularly? If he’s not playing regularly then he has to… https://t.co/R0Kjr9rtV7 (@PhilHay_)
The Athletic reported earlier this month that Leeds are keen on Adams and were willing to sign him on loan, with an option to sign him permanently in the summer.
READ SOUTHAMPTON VERDICT
The way in which Bielsa spoke about the interest in Adams suggests that Leeds have moved on from him. Bielsa’s use of “was” infers that he is not a target anymore, which indicates that Leeds either pulled out of a deal or Southampton rejected their advances entirely.
However, it could have just been lost in translation, with English – of course – not being the Argentine’s native language. It is a possibility that he did not mean to suggest that they were not looking at him anymore, as the wording could be interpreted to mean the forward will not be joining Leeds this month.
Adams joined Southampton from Birmingham for £15m last summer but has failed to score a goal for the club thus far. He did come off the bench against Leicester last weekend to provide a crucial assist for Danny Ings to score the winner, though, which shows that he does still have something to offer at St. Mary’s.
