Leeds United CEO Angus Kinnear has revealed that he was pursuing a deal for Southampton forward Che Adams in January.
Kinnear admits that Adams was one of a number of strikers he tried to sign for the Championship club, but that he was told early on that a deal was not going to be possible.
The Yorkshire Evening Post reported in January that Leeds failed with three bids for the former Birmingham man, the third including a £20m option-to-buy in the summer.
Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Kinnear said:
So I know the window was dominated with headlines around Che Adams, Dwight Gayle, Andre Gray and Jarrod Bowen.
Actually, they’re all avenues that we explored. But you find out quite quickly whether they’re available or not available. Although the media speculation ran and ran, actually all those clubs said those players weren’t available pretty early on.
READ SOUTHAMPTON VERDICT
Although Adams has failed to score for Southampton this season, allowing him to leave would have left the club short at the top end of the pitch.
If he joined Leeds, Ralph Hasenhuttl would have only had Michael Obafemi, Shane Long and Danny Ings left, whilst playing a formation which requires two strikers. This means that Saints would have been severely lacking in depth if one or two of those three picked up an injury or a suspension.
Keeping Adams was the right decision as he could be called upon during the second half of the campaign.
He is also only 23, which means that he has plenty of time ahead of him to improve and develop his game in order to reach a level where is able to play regularly for Southampton in the Premier League.
It will now be interesting to see how much game time he can amass over the coming months for the Saints and if he will be able to cement his place in the starting line-up.
