Name Che Adams Role Footballer | Number 29 Date joined 2014 Years Team | |
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Full name Che Zach Everton Fred Adams Date of birth (1996-07-13) 13 July 1996 (age 19) Current team Sheffield United F.C. (#29 / Midfielder, Forward) Similar People Chris Basham, Matt Done, Louis Reed, Jamal Campbell‑Ryce, Billy Sharp | ||
Place of birth Leicester, England Playing position | ||
Che adams
Che Zach Everton Fred Adams (born 13 July 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward or a midfielder for Championship club Birmingham City. He began his senior career in non-league football with Oadby Town and Ilkeston before moving into the Football League with Sheffield United in late 2014. He made 47 League One appearances before signing for Birmingham in August 2016. He represented England at under-20 level in 2015.
Contents
- Che adams
- Jamie murphy on che adams
- Early career
- Sheffield United
- Birmingham City
- International career
- Style of play
- Career statistics
- References
Jamie murphy on che adams
Early career
Adams was born in Leicester, where he played football as a youngster for Highfield Rangers. He joined Coventry City's youth academy as a seven-year-old, and was released at fourteen. He then played youth football for Leicester club St Andrews before joining Oadby Town in 2012. Initially playing for their youth team, Adams soon moved into the first team; over the 2012–13 season, the sixteen-year-old made 33 appearances for Oadby in the United Counties League, of which 27 were in the starting eleven, and scored 5 goals.
Adams took up a scholarship with Ilkeston's academy, and helped their team win their section of the Football Conference Youth Alliance and reach the second round proper of the 2013–14 FA Youth Cup. He also found himself playing first-team football in the Northern Premier League. Making his debut on 13 October as a very late substitute in a 3–2 win away to Stocksbridge Park Steels, Adams made his first league start in November, was sent off for elbowing an opponent on Boxing Day, scored his first senior goal for the club to complete a 3–1 win away to Ashton United on 5 April – he "picked up a loose ball and made a fine run through midfield and provided a left foot finish despite [the goalkeeper's] best effort to make the block" – and finished his season with the Derbyshire Senior Cup final, in which he was fouled for the penalty kick that made sure of Ilkeston's victory.
After Adams began the 2014–15 in spectacular fashion – introduced after 64 minutes of the second match of the season, "his pace, power and energy scar[ed] the life out of Stourbridge for the remainder of the game" as he provided two assists and was fouled for a penalty, before scoring twice in the next match, against Trafford – Ilkeston signed him to one-year contract at the end of August. He continued in similar vein: away to Stamford, Ilkeston's first and third goals were scored on the rebound when Adams' shots were parried, he was fouled for the free kick that led to the second, and "picked the ball up 35 yards out, beat a defender with ease and slid the ball home" to complete a 4–0 win; against Ashton United and FC United of Manchester, he used strength and pace to take the ball from his own half to score; and by the end of October, when 45 scouts were reported to be watching him score his ninth goal of the season to add to eleven assists, Ilkeston's chairman was resigned to his departure.
Sheffield United
On 14 November 2014, Sheffield United of League One beat off competition from clubs in higher divisions to sign Adams on a two-year deal. The fee was officially undisclosed, but the Sheffield Star reported it as a six-figure deal, and the Ilkeston club confirmed "a substantial up-front payment in non-league terms – plus a percentage of any sell-on fee." Adams made his professional senior debut on 16 December in a 1–0 home victory over Southampton, replacing Jamal Campbell-Ryce at half time as United made it to the semi-finals of the League Cup. Four days later he made both his first career start and his first Football League appearance, in a 1–1 draw with Walsall at Bramall Lane.
In the League Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham Hotspur on 28 January 2015 at Bramall Lane, Adams replaced Campbell-Ryce after 74 minutes. Five minutes later he had scored his first goals for Sheffield United with two goals in just over two minutes, which would have taken the game to extra time had Christian Eriksen not scored for Tottenham Hotspur in the 88th minute to win 3–2 on aggregate.
Adams made ten appearances as Sheffield United finished the season in the League One play-off places. In the play-off semi-final second leg away to Swindon Town on 11 May, he replaced Ryan Flynn for the final five minutes and scored an equaliser for a 5–5 draw, but his team lost 7–6 on aggregate.
Adams scored for the first time in the league on 15 August 2015, with both goals in a 2–0 at home to Chesterfield which was Sheffield United's first win of the season,. Ten days later, he signed a new three-year deal at United with the option of an extra year. On 10 October, Adams scored twice in the first half of a 3–2 win over Rochdale, and ten days later he got another brace to defeat Fleetwood Town 3–0, opening the scoring after 54 seconds. He was given a straight red card on 5 December in the second round of the FA Cup, for a foul on Liam Kelly in a 1–0 win at Oldham Athletic. Adams established himself as a regular in the team, partnering striker Billy Sharp, but in March 2016 was dropped to the bench by manager Nigel Adkins for not working hard in training. He soon returned, finished the season with 12 goals from 41 appearances in all competitions, 11 from 36 in League One, and was named by the Sheffield Star as its Young Player of the Year.
Birmingham City
Amid considerable transfer speculation, Adams played in Sheffield United's opening fixture of the 2016–17 season, but a bid was accepted from Championship club Birmingham City shortly afterwards, and he signed a three-year contract with the club on 8 August 2016. The fee was undisclosed, although the Sheffield Star reported it to be around £2 million, and that United had turned down deals valued at £1.2m and £1.7m. Publicity surrounding the deal caused problems for the Ilkeston club: creditors believing that Ilkeston would benefit by an estimated £300,000 called in their debts, and when no payment was immediately forthcoming, the Northern Premier League suspended the club until the debts were settled, causing the postponement of their first four league fixtures. The club was wound up in the High Court in June 2017.
Adams made his Birmingham debut on 16 August, as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw away to Wigan Athletic. He started the next match, at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers four days later, and opened the scoring with a low angled shot across the goalkeeper; he played 61 minutes as Birmingham went on to lose 3–1. He played regularly through the first half of the season, either as substitute or starter, and scored twice more: to earn a draw against Preston North End in September, and a determined late winner against Bristol City in November.
International career
Adams, whose father is from Antigua, was invited to join the Antigua and Barbuda squad for Caribbean Cup qualifiers in October 2014, but decided against accepting the invitation. He was then called up to the England C squad – the team that represents the country at semi-professional level – but he signed for Sheffield United before the 18 November fixture and thus became ineligible. He was called up to the England U20 squad for two matches against the Czech Republic in early September 2015. He made his debut on 5 September in a 5–0 win at St George's Park, replacing Tyler Walker for the final 17 minutes, and started the second match, a 1–0 defeat.
Style of play
Manager Kevin Wilson of Adams' former club Ilkeston described Adams as having "pace in abundance, but he's really powerful too" and said that "his biggest asset is that knack of changing games in the blink of an eye".