Mauricio Pochettino revealed his new USA squad this week and, while leaving out Brenden Aaronson, the former Chelsea boss again spoke out about his attempts to take Tyler Adams from Leeds United to Stamford Bridge.
During the summer of 2023, following Leeds United’s relegation from the Premier League, Chelsea triggered the £20 million release clause in Tyler Adams’ contract.
However, concerns over his fitness saw the London giants back out, with Bournemouth snapping up the tough-tackling America international instead.
“He’s a player that we wanted to sign in Chelsea,” Pochettino told the press this week, finally getting the chance to work up close with Adams in his new national team role in charge of the USMNT.
“He’s an important player. He’s a very good player.”
Even as Leeds United dropped out of the top-flight in calamitous fashion, Adams finished behind only Fulham enforcer Joao Palhinha in terms of tackles won throughout the Premier League season. Now back to full match sharpness at Europe-chasing Bournemouth, Adams is once again amongst the division’s best ball winners.
Only Idrissa Gueye, Casemiro and Daniel Munoz are keeping him off the podium right now.
Photo by Isa Terli/Anadolu via Getty Images
Photo by Isa Terli/Anadolu via Getty Images
Leeds United could find their next Tyler Adams in Anthony Dennis
As for Leeds, Adams’ former employers taking a big step towards a Premier League return as they beat Millwall in midweek, a genuine defensive enforcer may be one of the few things missing from a deep and varied squad.
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Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev are certainly strong in the tackle. But both players – especially the former, Tanaka scoring a ‘wonderful’ goal to clinch victory at Elland Road on Wednesday night – would be wasted somewhat tasked with only breaking up the play in front of Daniel Farke’s backline.
Given that both of Farke’s top-flight seasons saw Norwich City relegated – the German struggled to translate his possession-heavy style into the top-flight – Leeds could maybe do with someone in the Tyler Adams’ mould.
Someone capable of protecting the defence with a sheet of steel, while providing a platform for Leeds’ array of gifted attackers to do what they do best.
Leeds United have a verbal agreement to bring Kalvin Phillips back home, according to reports. They do say ‘never go back’ for a reason, however. Yet to really make an impression on loan at Ipswich Town, Phillips is clearly not the same midfielder who blossomed under Marcelo Bielsa and won England’s 2021 Player of the Year award.
He also turns 30 in December. And with reports claiming Manchester City want £20 million, this feels like a deal that would be made with the heart rather than the head.
Suggestions that Leeds have opened talks to sign Anthony Dennis from Turkish outfit Goztepe might not capture the imagination like a Kalvin Phillips homecoming.
But, from a purely pragmatic perspective, investing in an improving, ambitious and energetic 20-year-old with considerable upside feels a more sensible – if low-risk – approach from a team who have had to contend with Financial Fair Play concerns of late.
Goztepe want £16 million less than Manchester City do for Kalvin Phillips
Dennis is valued at around £4.2 million by his Super Lig employers.
Comparisons have been drawn between the 20-year-old Nigerian and Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, as well as Leicester City powerhouse Wilfried Ndidi.
While Baleba loves to drive forward from deep, while Ndidi blossomed as a number eight rather than a number six under Enzo Maresca, the comparisons with Dennis are likely to be more down to their strength in the tackle.
Ndidi sits sixth – two places behind Adams – in the Premier League’s ball-winning table. Baleba is the most consistent tackler at Brighton.
Anthony Dennis also tops those charts at Goztepe with 2.5 tackles per game. A tally of eight yellow cards from 21 Super Lig starts proves that his timing could do with some work. He is also yet to reach the same numbers as Adams did at Elland Road or at Bournemouth.
But, clearly, the potential is there. Potential that not only Leeds United but also Stuttgart – Champions League qualifiers last year and excellent unearthers of rough diamonds – appear to have spotted.