It may not be the most exciting signing for the club in recent years, but the Blues will be better with the American in the squad
Of the members of Leeds United's U.S. men's national team triumvirate, Tyler Adams looked the most likely to land on his feet. The midfielder's injury absence was arguably one of the biggest reasons the club was relegated, after all. Surely some club would see how important Adams was to Leeds and act on it, right?
Well, as the summer wore on, it looked like Adams was the most likely to remain at Leeds. Both Brendan Aaronson and Weston McKennie have since fallen upwards, with Aaronson landing at Champions League-bound Union Berlin and McKennie finding his place back at Juventus. Adams, meanwhile, headed towards the season as a member of Leeds squad.
That is, until now. Adams has completed his move, signing with Chelsea after the Blues activated his £20 million ($25.53m) release clause. A player that has long been compared to N'Golo Kante is now replacing the genuine article.
It's an exciting move for Adams, who has certainly earned his chance to play for a club of this size. He excelled for club and country last season, with his World Cup performance showing exactly why he was named the USMNT captain. This move gives him a chance to move up the ladder and play for a team that certainly isn't as much of a disaster as Leeds was last season.
Chelsea haven't exactly been in the best state themselves, though. In fact, in recent years, they've been quite messy. Indeed, that mess ultimately led to Adams' longtime friend, Christian Pulisic, leaving the club as a combination of inconsistency, dysfunction, new signings and untimely injuries made his Chelsea career one big ball of frustration.
Will things be different for Adams? That's the big question, isn't it. But, as he prepares for his big move to Stamford Bridge, he does seem to be a more necessary player for Chelsea than Pulisic ever was.
Getty ImagesAdams' upward trajectory
Funnily enough, Adams' first real moment in the spotlight, coincidentally, came against Chelsea.
It happened when he was just a teenager, a member of the New York Red Bulls' reserve team. Due to a scheduling mishap, the Red Bulls would have to field their reserves for a friendly against Chelsea as their first team would need to play in the Open Cup.
Enter Adams. The 16-year-old midfielder was the star of the show that day, scoring a header in the 69th minute as the Red Bulls stunned the Blues. A few months later, he signed his first-team contract, and it's only been up from there.
He eventually played his way to the Red Bulls' sister club in Leipzig, famously scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the 2019-20 Champions League quarterfinals. It wasn't his goals, though, but his defensive energy that earned him a big-money move to Leeds last season.
We all know what happened next: Leeds proved to be a total disaster. However, their real downfall didn't come until Adams' went down with a season-ending injury. Defensively, Leeds fell off a cliff once Adams was out of the line-up as they were banished to the Championship.
Several key players have departed the club this summer, with Adams being the most recent. And, of all of them, Adams may just have the highest potential, which is why Chelsea are now asking him to help replace arguably the best No.6 of a generation.
Advertisement(C)GettyImagesChelsea's need in midfield
As the summer wore on, it became clear that Chelsea needed a midfielder or two; Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount all left the club, with only teenager Lesley Ukochukwu being brought in. Andrey Santos, a January signing, is in the team and could play after featuring prominently in preseason but, in reality, this is a team that was missing a few pieces.
For much of the summer, it looked like Moises Caicedo would be the answer. For months, the Blues were linked with the Brighton star, with it seemingly being a foregone conclusion that the Ecuadorian would arrive at Stamford Bridge to partner Enzo Fernandez for the next decade.
That was until Liverpool swooped in and beat Chelsea to Caicedo by paying Brighton a £110m ($140m), record-breaking transfer fee.
Instead, Chelsea have landed on something of a consolation prize in Adams, who comes at a significantly cheaper price than Caicedo. Adams, of course, doesn't quite have the potential of the soon-to-be-ex-Brighton star, who could very well become one of the best midfielders in the world.
Adams, though, is no slouch. Statistically, Adams wasn't far off of Caicedo defensively last season. While Caicedo led Premier League U-23 players in tackles and interceptions with 156, Adams was fourth with 124 despite missing a third of the season. The second player on that list, Declan Rice, just went for nine figures, just like Caicedo. The third player, Cheick Doucoure, would reportedly command nearly three times what Chelsea paid for Adams.
The point is this, the USMNT captain has plenty of qualities Chelsea are looking for, particularly after Kante's departure.
Getty Images'The American Kante'
Even considering how much he slowed down in recent years, replacing Kante is no easy task. The Frenchman is a legitimate icon, with his all-energy approach to playing the defensive midfield position endearing him to fans all over the world.
So, when Kante left, the question soon became how Chelsea would replace him. With all of the attacking options in the Chelsea squad, how would they go about finding a player to do the dirty work?
And that's why they've signed Adams, a player who has been compared to Kante at various points in his career. Like Kante, Adams has a seemingly-endless motor and, like Kante, that motor is used almost exclusively to destroy. He may pop up with the odd goal, but Adams is no box-to-box star; he's an old-school, attack-destroying No.6.
"Growing up, when N’Golo Kante hit the scene, he was the player who changed the mould of how a No.6 should play the game," Adams told in 2022. "It was no longer only the style of Sergio Busquets. Everyone wanted to be like him — and why wouldn’t they? — but I’m more like Kante than I am Busquets. So I was happy because players like this were finally getting the praise they deserve for doing the hard work and being the engine of the team.
"Not everything that Kante does is beautiful but you look at the end of the game and see how many duels and tackles he’s won and how many transition moments he stopped – that’s a huge benefit to teams, especially when you play an attacking style of football.
"Fabinho at Liverpool is another one. He does a little bit of everything. I like how well-rounded his game is and I want my game to be as well-rounded as possible."
The World Cup was perhaps the best example of Adams' role, as he was played behind his more attacking midfield team-mates in McKennie and Yunus Musah. While those two impacted the game all over the field, Adams was the defensive shield, snuffing out attack after attack. His best performance may have come against England, when the USMNT trio out-dueled England's midfield of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice throughout the 0-0 draw.
That's what Chelsea can expect from Adams: destruction. While the forward players and more advanced midfielders go to work, Adams will play deep. It won't be pretty, but it'll be effective. Adams, in many ways, is the type of player all top teams need in their search for balance.
Getty ImagesBad vibes at Chelsea
Just when the American fans thought they were out, Chelsea have pulled them back in.
Supporters of the USMNT were thrilled to see Pulisic leave Chelsea this summer, having struggled for consistent minutes under several managers during his time at the club. That time, of course, was headlined by a Champions League triumph, which Pulisic certainly contributed to, but the years since have had more bad than good.
Pulisic was very much a victim of the Chelsea way, which has only gone nuclear since Todd Boehly took over. Under Roman Abramovich, Chelsea spent big on any and every player the team needed; under Boehly, they're spending big even on players they don't.
That fact eventually doomed Pulisic's time at the club, as Chelsea brought in attacker after attacker. There's only room for so many wingers on the field and, eventually, Pulisic was totally squeezed out. The hope is that he'll now land on his feet at Milan, much like several other players have in recent years.
Adams' situation, though, is different than Pulisic's. While there's naturally pressure that comes with playing at Chelsea, it does seem that Adams has a role carved out for him heading into the season, even if he is occasionally supporting from the bench.