“He’s not irreplaceable” – Southampton face Che Adams contract decision
Declan Harte
Adams is Southampton’s second top scorer in the Championship so far this season, and has contributed an important role in their promotion push.
However, he has remained on the fringes of Martin’s plans and it is clear he is not seen as a first-choice option.
The Scotland international has Premier League experience, which is useful to have in the dressing room.
Adams is Southampton’s second top scorer in the Championship so far this season, and has contributed an important role in their promotion push.
However, he has remained on the fringes of Martin’s plans and it is clear he is not seen as a first-choice option.
The Scotland international has Premier League experience, which is useful to have in the dressing room.
But he was unable to perform consistently in the top flight and struggled to make a big impact in the final third during his time in the division.
Given that context, the Saints may be better off looking to offload his wages from their books and look to strengthen the squad elsewhere.
Southampton have strong attacking options without Adams, with Adam Armstrong really coming into his own under Martin.
Ross Stewart has had his injury issues, but he is still a threat in attack when available, and Ryan Fraser and Samuel Edozie have performed well in wide roles this season.
Adams has been linked with a move to Premier League sides Wolves and Nottingham Forest in the past, and signing him as a free agent will likely be appealing to those clubs in the summer, so his future at St. Mary’s may also depend on their promotion hopes.
But regardless of which division Southampton compete in next year, the club should look to move on from Adams.
Ben Wignall
The fact that Adams has had a contract on the table since the beginning of the season and has still not signed it yet is pretty telling as to where he must think his future lies.
If Adams was so committed to the cause at St Mary’s Stadium, then he would have put pen-to-paper on the extension a long time ago, but considering many top flight clubs were linked last summer and in January too, it looks clear that he is keeping his options open ahead of the summer.
Even though Adams never hit double figures in a single season he was in the Premier League with Southampton for, he’s still an effective striker at that level at times, which is why plenty of clubs have been keen.
Adams will be fully aware that he can command a sizeable signing-on fee as a free agent this summer, so it looks pretty clear what he is doing – but he is still committed to the task of trying to get Southampton promoted at the first time of asking.
Martin has plenty of attacking options to choose from and Adams has been starting more recently than he has done at other points of the season, but he’s not irreplaceable by any stretch of the imagination.
Southampton’s squad has been getting noticeably younger with their recruitment over the last few years too, so coupling that with Adams’ seemingly obvious desire to test the waters this summer, the Saints should just let his contract expire this summer and say thank you for what he has done in five years.
